When one head coach steps down, another must step up. For this upcoming season, Powell River Track and Field Club needs someone to take that step.
Former head coach and president Ron Hollingsworth announced he is stepping down after five years. Al Hernandez has taken over as president on an interim basis.
Although Hollingsworth is staying on as a director, the club still needs a head coach. With track and field season just around the corner, Hollingsworth said people need to step up soon.
“We’re looking for directors and a head coach to run the club into the future,” said Hollingsworth. “We just need somebody to steer everybody in a direction. The main problem is we need a head coach and coaches.”
Hollingsworth is reaching out to parents who are putting their children into track and field. He said the number of children who join the club rises every year and so the need for coaches expands with it.
“When I first started we were down around 34,” he said. “We’re up to 74 right now and climbing. With the new track I’m sure it’ll be even higher. We really need the help to coach the kids and we really need somebody who can take full charge of the whole situation and delegate.”
There is a coaching level one and two course coming up on March 30, Hollingsworth said, which is fully funded by the club. Track season registration is on April 3, 5 and 10. “To get this in before the track season would be perfect.”
Hollingsworth also explained that coaching for the track club is a time commitment of three hours a week from the beginning of April until the end of June. Practices are Tuesdays and Thursdays for 90 minutes. The club has children as young as nine all the way up to high school ages.
“It’s just an obligation to come to practices and training,” Hollingsworth said. “A head coach doesn’t really need to be there every practice. They can delegate the other coaches.” If there aren’t enough coaches, he added, the club might have to put a cap on the number of children they take.
“There’s no use having 90 kids if we only have four or five coaches. It just doesn’t work.”
The group is also looking for more directors to run the club behind the scenes. They meet once a month, Hollingsworth explained, and prefer nine people on the board, though it is not an official limit. There are currently about seven.
Anybody interested in coaching or being a director can call Hollingsworth at 604.485.7587.
