Help. I hate being a track parent. it's worse than being a soccermom. Ten hour wait for less than 10 minutes of action.

7/10.

Good thing your kid isn't a 100m sprinter.

Consider the positives and advantages of having your child compete in track.

At least your child actually gets to compete in track meets and you get to watch, even if they are not one of the best. If they were on a football, basketball or other team, the coach might never put them in the game and you would only get to watch them sit on the bench.

When your child does compete in track, you get to watch their entire race. This is unlike cross country running, xc or downhill skiing or even mtn bike racing where you might only be able to see them at the start, finish and/or maybe for a few other moments along the way.

You can cheer, yell and scream for your child at a track meet and there is a good chance they might hear you. There are normally not that many other spectators there making noise. Likely no other sounds to overcome as there probably will not be a marching band, cheerleaders or an announcer with amplified sound calling the race at a track meet.

Since there are normally not that many spectators at a track meet you can ger really close to the outside edge of the track and watch your athlete compete only a few feet away. If they are a distance runner you might get to see them pass very close to you many times. You should be able to get close enough to the edge of the track to see their facial expression and they might actually see, recognize and acknowledge you. In most other sports you can't get that close to the field of play and even if you can the field of play is much wider than an 8-lane track. Your track child's face in not obscured by a helmet, hat, water, etc.

Your child's track uniform is minimal and does not have a large number on it. This is in recognition of the fact that spectators like you will be able to easily identify specific runners by their face, hair, body etc. Track uniforms are minimal and track athletes expose more of their body and skin to the world than any other sport (swimmers may wear less, but you can't actually see their bodies in the water). As a parent you may get to see more of your child's body at a track meet than any other time. You can check for and evaluate tatoos, scars, development etc. without being confrontational

When your child is not actually competing on the track they can hang out with you (if they want to). They can come up into the stands or you can go to the warm-up area to talk with them. They normally could even come to your car with you during the meet to get different things or whatever. It is not like team sports where they have to be on the bench, dugout or in the locker room during half time and you can't get access to them.

If you are able to and your child wants to, you can often help them prepare for their race by warming up with them. You can jog with them, run strides with them, stretch with them, etc..often in an area outside the track itself. After their race, you could also warm down with them or help them prepare for their next race. As a parent you are never going to be allowed on a basketball court, football or baseball field during warm ups.

Unlike faster-paced sports, track meets stretch across entire days, testing your patience with long gaps between events, unpredictable schedules, and plenty of downtime.

Get involved in the sport actuallyk now the local competition. or find a new book series

No chit : A. It ain't about you. B. Volunteer. C. Maybe you should've thought of these things before you had kids

Figure out how to multi-task. Dont just sit on the benches. Find other things to do while you wait

The Death of the Dual/Tri Meet has resulted in the bloated invitationals where everyone is chasing a mark/time vs competing as a team vs the other school.

If you're just chasing a time that's just the top individuals, so only your best varsity runners really matter.

When you had (have?) a small dual/tri/quad meet depth matters, you need those other athletes chipping in with 1-2 pts.

Secondly, since there is such a big market, there's no reason for an RD to say "No" to more entrants. That's just more dollars from entry fees, gate (every runner brings 2-4 people) and concessions.

My parents never went to any of my games, or meets.

I'm fine with that

The the thought of having to sit around a track meet all day (even if it wasn't necessary to do so) is the main reason I didn't have any kids.

What the heck is an "uncle in law"? In Texas, we call that "my uncle."

I wont criticize it. But I can't even remotely wrap my mind around not wanting to see my kid's game or meet? It's my kid? Im not trying to be parent of the year here, it just seems part of our DNA?

I actually had a real parent ask me this once. I told him that at our meets he could see some of the best athletes in our region in any sport. Learn a little about the other events and watch.

There's speed, endurance, strength, and athletic skills all in one fenced in area. And in high school, more heart than you'll see at any level.

This is a GenX thing.. totally different mindset and financial circumstances. 1. We didnt want, nor did we expect our parents to be there. 2. Just speaking for myself, but my school was poor>working class. My dad worked long hours 5-6 days per week, so the 48 hours of the weekend was his ONLY time at home to do "dad stuff" like home repairs, yard work, and yes.. even relax.

Personally, I am always surprised at how easily everyone is able to miss work to go to youth sports these days.

Right on. I had basically the same experience. My parents weren't my friends, they were my parents. I didn't want to be around them. They had their own interests and didn't base their whole existence around me. As long as I wasn't getting in trouble and was getting good grades they just left me alone, which is what I wanted. I'd get the occasional question about how a meet went, and they would get excited when my picture was in the papers, but that was about it.

Ran in the 70s. My parents often came to home meets. Never away meets aside from maybe a big invitational. My wife and I tried to attend all of our kids meets in HS and college but we also both really enjoy the sport. But small HS dual meets can be pretty painful though hurdles often provided some entertainment LOL.

I agree with the op; as exciting as the penn relays are to me, my wife can only watch 3-5pm on saturday. She actually prefers indoor meets over outdoor. She was a big Justin Gatlin and SRR fan, she would literally go to a meet just to watch them run because she got know them, which tells you that getting to know the athletes helps. My best advice is to learn the sport, make friends with the other moms and know the schedule. Btw, swimming, aau basketball and soccer tournaments are just as bad. - Part of being a parent is sometimes suffering through your kid's activities you have no interest in; any man who had a daughter who does competitive dance will know what I am talking about.

My parents, one or the other were one of a handful who attended my meets, games etc. Most of my teammates thought it was cool and they wished theirs would attend more often or at least once. BTW, baby boomer

And the involved parents would actually know that it was a race day and inquire, “How was your meet?”

I used to go to track meets even when my daughter wasn't running. You got to be a track fan. Having my daughter competing was just an added treat. I was able to see great runners when they were still in high school: Cooper Teare, Luis Grijalva, the Newbury Park boys, Grant Fisher, Michael Norman. It was awesome! You just knew they were going to be great.