Anxiety Excites  

Getting a new track personal record is like getting all the Christmas presents you've received over the years all at once. Through athlete's eyes you can never push your body too hard during a race. "It's like everything you've worked for shown in a matter of 13 seconds," says Coach Stamm, the  assistant coach for Bloomsburg track and field. Unlike most people, Stamm knows that the whole team needs to be involved in order to accomplish rewards throughout the season. "It is so satisfying and fulfilling to see an athlete and even a whole team get rewarded for something they've been working so hard at. When a whole team can come together and help one another achieve their goals, that makes it even more special to be a part of," Coach Stamm explains heartwarmingly. Coach Empie, Coach Stamm and a small group of talented student athletes belong to the Bloomsburg Track and Field team. These athletes sacrifice their minds and bodies 5 days a week for 8 months out of the year.  A commitment like track to most people becomes a challenge they would rather not face, but to the athletes track season ignites the excitement of their whole entire year. In the atmosphere of anxiety levels rising and excitement rushing through bodies, among a gifted set of individuals, records await to be broken.
   Once a year, the air gets chilled, you can see one's breath create a enormous puff of frigid air and the misty air falls leaving a thin layer of dew on the ground. Every September of each year, Bloomsburg Track and Field team pushes aside the past season and gets ready to take on the fresh, new and challenging competition. Darkness still covering the skies, chills in the air and condensation coating the turf field, the athletes appear at 7 am each morning for practice. White lines distinctively break up the lanes on the track one by one and teammates cheer for one another during brutal workouts causing eagerness to rise while, the empty stadium engulfs the track starring back at you in silence. When 7 am hits every morning the athletes, all bundled up in their athletic clothes line up one by one along the edge of the turf field. They all start the warmup at the same time like toy soldiers wound ready to walk at once. De-layering one piece of warm clothing at a time, the Bloomsburg Track team goes through their warm-up. With the practices being right in the morning, it provides the rest of the day for the athletes to get to class on time and then have time to compete their assignments. "While in season, our team practices five days a week and usually competes at the conclusion of that week.  Practices begin at 7:00am.  We all warm up together as a team and then break off into our specific event disciplines.  Our weekly breakdown of workouts will generally include one power/strength day, a speed day, a recovery day, a tempo running day, and a technique day.  Practices last approximately an hour and a half, and then we lift afterwards for about 45 minutes.  The lift depends on what period of the season we are in, but most of our team focuses primarily on legs three days/week," reveals Coach Stamm sitting promptly at her desk. 

 To the standard BU students, sports isn't an important thought to most of them. The constant running and the strain on one's body might put them in distress and be alarming. However, this is what  athletes like to call their passion and a way of letting out their stress. The field where the track is located, opened in 1996 and offers bleacher seating with a spectacular view.  http://buhuskies.com/index.aspx?path=wtrack .The head coach for the team is Bernie Empie. In 2009, Empie took over the track and field program at Bloomsburg and led the women's team to a 17th place finish at the NCAA Division II National Championship. Coach Stamm is the assistant coach for the team. "I have been extremely passionate about track & field since I first started competing in high school.  Even back then, I wanted to share my passion for my sport with others.  I convinced my high school coach to hold summer track practices, and I started a winter track club.  I wanted to be around the sport all the time.  I got my degree in education, but when I graduated, I realized that the subject I really wanted to teach was track & field! I honestly can’t see myself doing anything else," explains Stamm with thrill in her voice. 
 On Saturday's, it is usually competition day where the team travels to various places to compete. "I feel the anxiety rise and my adrenaline rush through my body weeks before competition time", says an athlete anxiously. Each competition meet always includes various running distances to accommodate each athlete competing. Saying this, there are races for sprinters, races for mid distance runners, races for long distance runners and of course the relays. "I enjoy watching the 100 meter dash, 200 meter dash, 400 meter dash and of course the relays," says a fan excitedly. Sprinting events on the track go by within a blink of an eye. "When the sprinters line up on the starting line I get very nervous and feel anxious," exclaims a fan tensely.  No matter what track meet is occurring, no matter the time of the day and no matter what the weather is like, you will never find a meet not filled with fans frantically walking to spots across the perimeter of the track to catch better views. "I like the feeling of competition and I like watching people strive to get their times down," says a passionate fan. 

    The ultimate goal is to create a family like bond throughout the team and to win competitions. Coach Stamm left with these words coming right from her heart: "I am so excited about where the program is headed, particularly on the women’s side.  We landed a big and very talented recruiting class this year, so we know that they will make huge impacts, especially as they grow and develop.  Coach Empie has always said that he took his job as head coach back in 2008 with a goal of someday winning a conference championship.  Last year, we were second.  I believe that we are still headed in the right direction, and this group of underclassmen can help us get to the top!"

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