(SLIDESHOW) Michael Johnson trains young athletes at local middle school

FISD school hosts summer track camp

School has been out for several weeks now but the track behind Scoggins Middle School in McKinney was busy Thursday, July 23, with students from around the country learning to run harder, jump higher, and move faster.

Who better to learn the ropes from than former Olympian and world record holder Michael Johnson? Johnson is on this year's list of athletes to be inducted into the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame on August 12.

“It’s a huge honor for me to be associated with those caliber Olympians,” Johnson said. “It's a very small group of elite athletes who have accomplished a lot and so it's a great honor for me to be a part of that group.”

Johnson was out on the track for the fourth day of his one-week camp sharing a little about the secrets to achieving one’s personal best. He and a handful of trainers worked with a group of 25 kids focusing on teaching proper sprint and running techniques, drills and training techniques to increase speed, power, strength and stamina, and race strategy for specific events.

“This is our first annual track camp,” Johnson said. “Our objective is to get these kids exposed to the program and have them learn some of the fundamentals, teach them a little more about sprinting and track and speed development.”

He said normally kids are in Michael Johnson programs for 12 to 18 sessions but the one-week summer camps are set up for students who don’t have the time for more extensive programs and are looking to get some fundamentals.

“It's a part of our program to teach them how to train, how to train smart, and what it takes to actually be successful at whatever level that might be,” Johnson said. “It's not about trying to find Olympians or professional athletes. If we can help kids to enjoy the sport more then they're going to stay with it a little bit longer.”

Johnson said starting the camp for track athletes has been a desire of his for a while but this year it finally became a reality. He said his other programs typically train soccer and football players.

“I really get excited when we have track athletes in,” Johnson said. “We've got a great group. I've gotten to know all the kids here and they've gotten to know one another and it's been a great time.”

Current Rating: 0 of 0 votes!

Rate File: Select Rating: * ** *** ****

 Plano Apartments
 Plano Attorneys
 Plano Auto Dealers
 Plano Auto Parts
 Plano Auto Repair
 Plano Beauty Salons
 Plano Car Rental
 Plano Dentists
 Plano Doctors
 Plano Flowers
 Plano Hotels
 Plano Insurance
 Plano Loans
 Plano Mortgages
 Plano Movers
 Plano Pizza
 Plano Realtors
 Plano Restaurants
 Plano Storage
 Plano Tax Preparation
 Plano Travel
 Featured
 More...