Track and Field

TRACK AND FIELD PROGRAM

The parish track and field team is a member of the Catholic Youth Organization/Staten Island Track and Field Friends (S.T.A.F.F.)  CYO, through STAFF, which is a group of volunteers, organizes a group of track and field meets for elementary school children.  The STAFF volunteers serve as the officials at the meets.  The meets are operated under the National Federation of High School Track and Field rules with certain rules adapted, clarified, adjusted, nullified or emphasized depending on the necessity of the league and its growth.  The meets are organized and sponsored by the parish teams in the league and private organizations(s).  The league and our team exists fo the youth of Staten Island.  The St. Joseph - St. Thomas Parish track team competed for the first time during the 1995 season.

Our practices are held at the Mission of the Virgin Mary-Mt. Loretto on Hylan Blvd.  and the College of Staten Island on Victory Boulevard in the Willowbrook section of Staten Island.  Parents , who have completed the VIRTUS-Safe Environment Program class and have undergone background checks conducted by the Archdiocese of New York, are encouraged to assist as assistant coaches. 

In the meets, the children can compete against nineteen other teams sponsored by Catholic parishes, schools and other private schools in a variety of individual and relay events.  Each meet is sponsored by parish or other groups.  In most of the meets, the children can compete in one individual running or speed walking event, one running relay event and one field event.  The distance of the individual running events range from 50 meters to 1,600 meters depending on the meet and age of the student athlete.  Children can also choose to participate in the speed walking event of 400 meters for children in grades 3-8.  The field events are the Shot Put (grades 3-8), Long Jump (grades 5-8) and Standing Broad Jump (grades 1-4) depending on the grade.  Children in grades Pre-Kindergarten through eight grades are eligible to run in the meets and younger children can practice with the team.

Student athletes in graded PK to the eighth grade can compete in events against children in the same grade and gender.  Medals are awarded to each child competing in individual, relay or teamed events and who finish in foirst, second and third place.  The meets are held in April, May and June at local high schools on St6aten Island.  The meets are usually held on Saturday.  One of the meets is the Staten Island CYO Championship.  In additino, the first two finishers in grades 5 through 8 in the our Lady of Counsel Meet qualify for the Archdiocese of New York Championship Meet, which is held at various sites in Richmond, Bronx and Rockland Counties on a rotating basis.  The first two finishers in this meet in each event qualify for the national CYO/AAU/PAL meet held annually in July in Disney World, Orlando, Florida. 

Some of our track team alumni have gone on to compete for Moore Catholic High School, Msgr. Farrell High School, Notre Dame Academy, St. Joseph Hill High School, St. John Villa Academy, St. Joseph-by-the Sea High School, Xavier High School, Staten Island Tech High School (MSIT) and Tottenville High School.  In addition, some of them have gone on to run at the college level and some have earned college scholarships to Virginia Commonwealth University, Monmouth University, State University of New York - College of Oneonta, Lafayette College, Marist College and Harvard University. 

The parish will sponsor an indoor track team when the indoor track team facility in Ocean Breeze, Staten Island has been completed by the City of New York.  We are expecting our first team to compete in 2012-2013.  Registration for the track team is in January, but registration forms can be submitted through the beginning of the season in May.

If anyone is interested in joining the Track and Field or Cross-Country team, they can print the registration form.  If there are any questions, they can contact Robert Smith at 718-948-5026 or email Robert at terrier72@aol.com.

CROSS COUNTRY PROGRAM 
St. Joseph - St. Thomas Parish cross country team had it's inaugural season in the Fall of 2001.  The team is a member of the Catholic Youth Organization-Staten Island Track and Field Friends (S.T.A.F.F.). The CYO, through STAFF, which is a group of volunteers, organizes group cross-country meets for children between grades Kindergarten and the 8th grade.  The STAFF volunteers serve as the officials at the meets.  The meets are operated under the National Federation of High School Cross-Country Track and Field rules.  Certain rules are adapted, adjusted, nullified, or emphasized depending on the necessity of our league and its growth. 

The children compete in one race of a specific distance depending on their grade and gender.  All meets are held in Clove Lake Park on Saturday afternoons from late September to early November.  The meets are held in the park on Royal Oak Avenue.  The last of the meets is the Staten Island CYO Championships.  Our practices are at Wolf's Pond Park on Hylan Blvd. and Clove Lake Park.  The registration for the corss-country team is in June, but registration forms can be submitted through the beginning of the season in September and early October.

The boys and girls are grouped separately into eight groups so that there are two grades in each of the eight races.  Medals are awarded to the fastest sutdent athletes (exact number is announced before the races).  The remaining runners who finish the race is awarded ribbons to signify their completing of the race.

The distances for each group of boys are the following:
Grades 7-8 (1 1/2 miles)
Grades 5-6 (1 mile)
Grades 3-4 (1/2 mile)
Grades 1-2 (1/4 mile)
Grades Pre-K (1/4 mile)

The distances for each group of girls are the following:
Grades 7-8 (1 mile)
Grades 5-6 (1 mile)
Grades 3-4 (1/2 mile)
Grades 1-2 (1/4 mile)
Grades Pre-K (1/4 mile)

Alumni/alumnae of our cross-country team hae or are currently running for Harvard University, Lafayette College, Notre Dame Academy, St. Joseph Hill High School, St. Joseph-by-the-Sea High School, Xavier High School, Staten Island Tech High School (MSIT) and Tottenville High School.  Alumni/alumnae of our track team prior to the creation of our cross-country team, have run on the cross-country teams at Virginia Commonwealth University, Moore Catholic High School, Msgr. Farrell High School and St. John Villa Academy.

If anyone has any questions, they should contact Robert Smith at 718-948-5026 or email Robert at terrier72@aol.com