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Not for Profit: St. Croix Track Club

Mustangs Ira Phillips, Mikaela Smith and Valence Modeste stretch after practice at UVI.Young members of the St. Croix Track Club are getting fit by trying all aspects of track and field events to find what event they enjoy most and fit them best.

Keith Smith, founder and head coach of the Mustangs, believes there is an event for every school-age child.

“Everyone isn’t a sprinter,” Smith says.

As a local school coach, Smith saw the need for more than what was offered here.

He says on St. Croix people tend to only think about cross country races and not the field events. In the club they encourage youth to try running, jumping, hurdling and throwing to find out what they enjoy doing the most.

“Some kids may try running and they don’t like it and give up right away,” Keith says. “We give them a chance to try other field events. They must have fun to enjoy sports.”

Smith’s wife, Mireille Smith, assistant coach and program manager, says some kids may be big-built and can physically be built as shot put or discus throwers.

When they moved from Michigan in 2005 to St. Croix, Keith’s boyhood home, they saw the need for alternatives to just running. So in August 2006 he and Mireille organized the club and began coaching youth in field events too.

“I wanted to give back to St. Croix and have a positive affect at home,” Keith says. “This is a great way to mentor kids and help groom them to become good citizens. We do more than train athletes – we want to make a serious and positive change in our community.”

The Smiths ran competitively and took part in a track and field club in Michigan. He says between the two of them they have 60 years of experience in track. They met at the Pan American games in 1987 in Suriname, which is where Mireille is from. Mireille holds Central American and Caribbean championship titles and records in running. Keith represented the Virgin Islands in the 1992 Olympics as a sprinter.

The Smiths are certified as coaches by the International Association of Athletics Federations. Three other coaches were certified through the V.I. Track and Field and the V.I. Olympic Committee, where Keith is an instructor. The club is non -profit and has an executive board and officers.

Since the inception of the club, 121 children have been in the program.

Mireille says sports build self esteem and the children find they can do anything they put their minds to.

“Athletics affects the big picture since it takes discipline and practice, which helps develop quality citizens,” Keith says. She adds the children learn to develop healthy eating and study habits. They say at least 90 percent of the team members are A students. Students must maintain at least a C average to be on the team. The Smith keep in close contact with parents and counsel kids on doing well in track and school and thinking about scholarships.

Smith says the children love the experiences they get being involved with the team. They all get to go to meets held on Tortola, Puerto Rico and Florida.To help defray expenses for the trips the students do cake and food sales and car washes. Parents also help with expenses and they hope the public will reach into their pockets too. There is a reasonable yearly membership fee that covers incidentals.

A few of the Mustangs run in almost all the races held on St. Croix.

Ian Cuffy, age 18 and a member of the University of the Virgin Islands cross country team, says he is glad he has the opportunity to get the supervision and guidance in sports in the track club.

Further informtion about the club can be obtained by sending e-mail to stcroixtrackclub@yahoo.com.

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