I was in the same position as you five years ago – I started a track and field team for my kids’ K-8 school, and we’ve had a lot of fun with it. Lots of comments here have emphasized the right things – having fun, giving 100% effort, and learning a bit of technique. Here are some tips for running a school team based on my experience.
--One practice a week is fine for kids this age if you have a meet on the weekend. You don’t want them to get bored, and they get plenty of exercise in other ways. Two practices is OK but I wouldn’t do three.
--Structure practice by having the kids rotate between stations, based on whatever events your league offers. I have stations for sprints, distance, relay, long jump, turbo javelin, and shot put (softball put for younger kids). I blow my whistle every 10 minutes and all the kids rotate to the next station.
--Gotta have an adult at every station or with every group of kids, so get plenty of other parents to serve as coaches with you. I’d say one coach for every 10 kids, or maybe 1:8 if you have Kindergarteners or 1st graders on the team. I don’t require any T&F experience, since the “crowd control” aspect of coaching at this age is so important. Give the parents some YouTube instructional videos to watch so they can teach things they might not know, like sprint starts or turbo jav technique. And then give them ownership by having them lead a station. And arrange an end-of-year party for the other coaches, or find some other way to build community and show your appreciation; after all, you’ll need them to keep coaching with you next year.
--Let the older kids show leadership, maybe by calling out stretches or organizing the huddle at the end of practice.
--Stay organized throughout the season. Send plenty of parent communications about meets and practices; maybe even organize a pre-season parents meeting. Don’t be a minute late for practice and stay until every kid has left. Always have your first-aid kit, backup sunscreen, and backup water. Cancel practice for inclement weather with plenty of notice. Your “customers” are the parents as much as the kids, and they’re much more likely to sign their kids up again next year if they had a good experience with you themselves.
--My biggest mistake was not taking a refresher first aid course before my first year. Luckily nothing bad happened that year, but I could have been in a really bad place if something had. There will be surprises and you’ll have to adapt. For me, the big shock the first year was that 104 kids registered for the team (which was half of our small school), so I had to scramble to add a couple of coaches and stations, and buy extra throwing implements. I was glad I did because they all showed up for practices too…
Hope this helps, and please share your own tips with us once you get the team up and running! If you're in DC as your handle suggests, I am too so maybe I'll see you out there.