Special Forces Track Club Heads to Junior Olympics

Despite the heat index soaring above 115 degrees recently, most evenings the track has been filled with youth practicing sprints, starts and various drills. The young athletes are part of a group – with participants ranging from middle school through high school – that is preparing to head to the AAU Junior Olympics in New Orleans to compete in track and field.

Few people want to be leave the comfort of their air conditioned homes in the recent sweltering heat, much less work out. Yet more than a dozen kids from the Special Forces Track Club were warming up together with sounds of Rihanna and other pop stars blaring through a small boombox. The community-based track club began in 1998 and has since expanded to more of a regional club with runners coming from Prince William, Fairfax and Loudoun counties. Occasionally athletes come all the way from West Virginia or Washington, DC.

“We started small and have continued to grow,” said coach Nick Savage. “The reputation of Special Forces has spread.”

Savage, who co-founded the club, has an impressive resume of athletic achievements including Maryland High School State Champion and record holder in the triple and hurdles before competing for the University of Wisconsin in both track and field as well as football from 1978-83. While attending UW, Savage was nominated as an Academic All-Big Ten athlete. Despite receiving offers from numerous professional football teams, Savage chose to dedicate himself to developing young athletes. Since then, Savage has worked with the Miami Heat and Dolphins and coached thousands of kids from the preschool through the high school level in Florida, Maryland and Virginia in track, football, basketball and soccer.

Special Forces, a year-round track club, aims to compete at the highest levels of track and field, which includes state, national and Olympic competitions and the club has produced more than 500 champions at the district, regional and national levels. During the spring season, there are as many as 50 members participating the club, while that number dwindles down to an elite core group of runners during the summer.

“The elite of the elite remain here,” Savage said. “Everybody here is a champion.”

While the oppressive heat could not be ignored, it did help prepare the runners for the upcoming Junior Olympics in New Orleans, where it is likely to be equally hot and humid, if not worse.

“The fact we are all out here together in this heat gives you an idea of how far we’ve come and how much you all trust us,” Savage told a crowd of runners and parents at the beginning of a recent practice. “With a heat index of 115, being out here is a very non-Northern Virginia thing. I am very proud of you all for that.”

Drinking fluids was the theme of the day but that idea was nothing new to these kids, even the younger ones.

“Being a part of Special Forces teaches him a different type of discipline and nutrition,” said Cara Everett, mother to Beau Everett who competes in the 9-10 age group. “Beau knows what time he has to eat, how much to eat and he recognizes the importance of hydrating throughout the day more so than I ever did as a young athlete.”

This knowledge trickles down to the athletes from Savage who believes in molding a well-rounded athlete, not just the best runner.

“He is behind them 100 percent and teaches the kids so much knowledge,” said Everett, who is also a member of the Special Forces booster club. “He pushes them in more than just running; academics are very important to him.”

That observation was evident when the coach reminded the high school students about the need for consistency in test scores and asked them each to select six colleges that they wanted to attend. He requested that this list range from three target schools to three schools that may be more of a stretch.

“We really appreciate his focus on academics and the community as a whole,” said Mike Hoskins, whose daughter Michaela joined the club in May. “It is not just athletics; he also encourages all the kids to take on their own leadership role.”

From Aug. 1-5, fifteen Special Forces runners will be in New Orleans competing at the Junior Olympics. The games begin July 28 with table tennis, weightlifting and jump rope competitions.

The Special Forces Running Club is open to runners of all ages and abilities with aim being to help all athletes reach their full potential in a fun and supportive environment.

Runners from the Special Forces Track Club competing at the Junior Olympics:

• Michaela Hoskins 800M, 1500M
• Christian Pelenda 800m
• Maansi Mehta 3000m
• Galissia Cause discus throw, shot put
• Jasmine Hill 400m
• Hali Mcfadgen 100m hurdles, 400m hurdles
• Shaquera Leach 200m, 400m, 4x400
• Jessica Rolle 400m, 4x400
• Britt Savage 4x400
• Kalyn Simmos 4x400
• Beau Everett 400m
• Bryson Riddick 800m
• Ryan Thomas high jump
• Mark Melbourne 100m, 200m
• Darron Coley 400m, 800m
• Anthony York 1500m