Track and field programs guide

The Tomball Kings offer high school, junior high, and elementary school track and field programs for homeschooled student-athletes in conjunction with Missing Element Sports and the Missing Element Track Club.

The program provides:

• both interscholastic and club competition for high school and junior high student-athletes; and,
• club competition for elementary school student-athletes.

Interscholastic competition takes the form of dual- or multi-school meets during the spring, commencing in mid-February and culminating with the Texas Homeschool State Track and Field Championships in early May. Interscholastic meets prior to the homeschool state championships feature public school, private school, and other homeschool opponents.

Club competition typically takes place within USA Track and Field ("USATF") or Amateur Athletic Union ("AAU") meets, commencing in mid-March and running through mid-July.

Some meets, particularly larger ones, welcome both interscholastic and club entrants.

Typically our interscholastic opponents are governed by University Interscholastic League ("UIL"), Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools ("TAPPS"), and Southwest Preparatory Conference ("SPC") rules. For eligibility purposes for interscholastic competition, we adhere to UIL, TAPPS, and SPC standards.

Registration

Please complete this form to register for track and field:

Schedule for Spring/Summer 2025 season

Please review our schedule for the spring/summer 2025 track and field season:

Noteworthy dates

• Preseason training begins Tuesday, December 3, 2024.
• In-season training begins Monday, February 3, 2025.
• Interscholastic meets begin mid-February 2025.
• Club meets begin mid-March 2025.
• The Texas Homeschool State Track and Field Championship will be held May 2-3, 2025 at Marion High School, Marion TX.
• The USATF National Junior Olympic Track & Field Meet will be held July 21-27, 2025 (location to be announced). Athletes must qualify for the Junior Olympic meet, by age group.

Training schedule

• Preseason training sessions will be on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays at the Missing Element Training Facility. The Tuesday and Thursday sessions run 5:30 PM to 7:00 PM. Saturday sessions run 10:00 AM to 11:30 AM. Preseason training begins Tuesday, December 3, 2024 and is optional.
• In-season training sessions will be on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays, split between Missing Element and Klein Memorial Stadium, depending upon training needs and weather. In-season training begins begins Monday, February 3, 2025. Sessions run 5:30 PM to 7:00 PM.
• Athletes may conclude their training with the state homeschool meet or continue training through the Junior Olympic meet, as they prefer.
• The preseason training is recommended, but optional.

Meet schedule

The interscholastic season for high school and junior high athletes begins mid-February and ends with the Texas Homeschool State Track and Field Championship May 2-3 in Marion TX.

The club season for all athletes begins mid-March and will conclude no later than the USATF National Junior Olympic Track & Field Meet, July 21-25, 2025. Athletes must qualify to compete in the Junior Olympic meet during qualifying meets in the June-July time frame.

We encourage all athletes to strive for Junior Olympic qualification and competition, but you are free to conclude your track and field season with the state meet.

Please let us know of any schedule conflicts you may have. We typically expect high school and junior high athletes to compete in interscholastic meets when and as offered, but will work around schedule conflicts on a best-efforts basis. Please plan for seven to ten interscholastic meets during the season.

Except for the state meet, all interscholastic meets will be in the Houston area. High school meets will typically be on Saturdays, with some Friday competition. Middle school meets will typically take place on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays.

We will typically offer eight to twelve club-meet opportunities during the season. You decide which club meets to attend from those we offer.

Training locations

• Preseason and some in-season training will be at Missing Element Sports, 7315 Five Forks Dr, Spring TX 77379 [map].
• In-season, on-track training will be at Klein Memorial Stadium, 16607 Stuebner Airline Rd, Klein TX 77379 [map].

Costs

Please budget for these costs for the Spring 2025 season:

• $99 per month for coaching and training for the first student from each household (the "primary student"), to be paid directly to Missing Element Track Club. Siblings of the primary student may participate for $25 per month each. A three-month minimum applies to coaching and training fees. Fees for preseason and in-season training are the same.
• Between $10 and $30 per track meet. Please budget for at least six to seven meets. We will firm up those costs once we have the schedule completed, as different meets have different entrance fees and not all have posted their fees as yet.
• $30 each for Tomball Kings and Missing Element Track Club uniforms. Only high school and junior high students need Tomball Kings uniforms.
• $30 per year for USA Track and Field ("USATF") membership, per student.
• $50 per year for the Tomball Kings Track and Field Program Fee.

You will pay (i) Missing Element directly for its coaching and training for the season, along with the club meets it schedules, and your Missing Element Track Club uniform, (ii) USA Track and Field for its annual student membership, and (iii) the Tomball Kings for the interscholastic meets it schedules, the Kings uniform, and the Kings annual program fee. The Kings will invoice you. You will pay online for Missing Element and USA Track and Field. We will provide payment links after registration is complete.

Meet entry fees will be as set forth by the meet hosts. In some cases these are set on a per-entrant basis. In others they are on a per-team basis, with separate charges for boys and girls rosters. For meets with team entry fees, we will apportion the costs on a pro rata basis among participants, but do not expect these to exceed $30 per meet.

Some meets require entrants to pay directly on an individual basis (typically, small entry fees). We will advise you of these as we schedule them.

Volunteers

We will need volunteers to serve as coaches and coordinators at the interscholastic meets, for both high school and junior high. Please indicate on the Kings registration form if you are able to serve as a volunteer coach or coordinator on interscholastic meet days.

Coaching and training

Missing Element provides all coaching and training for Kings track and field athletes (boys and girls), both for interscholastic and club competition. Athletes must comply with the rules of the Missing Element Track Club and the Tomball Kings organization. Missing Element coaches will determine in what events athletes may compete, when meets impose a per-event limit.

Eligibility

Athletes must be at least seven years of age to receive track and field instruction and training from Missing Element.

Only high school and junior high athletes are eligible for interscholastic competition.

Kings athletes of elementary-school age will not be eligible for interscholastic competition and will only be able to compete in meets as part of the Missing Element Track Club, with the approval of Missing Element coaches. They will wear Missing Element uniforms when they compete in such meets.

Kings athletes of junior high and high school age may compete, with the approval of Missing Element track coaches, (i) in interscholastic meets or (ii) in club (AAU, USATF, or other sanction as determined by Missing Element coaches) track meets. When competing in club meets, they will wear Missing Element uniforms. When competing in interscholastic meets, they will wear Kings uniforms.

Interscholastic competition

All Kings athletes must be homeschooled and in compliance with the academic standards of their homeschools. Those of junior high and high school age must also meet the eligibility standards of UIL, TAPPS , and SPC for interscholastic competition (must not have graduated; no more than four years of high school or two years of junior high competition; for high school, must not be over eighteen years of age on September 1; for junior high, must not be over fifteen years of age on September 1; cannot have more than six years combined of junior high and high school competition).  All Kings athletes must comply both with Kings standards and Missing Element standards.

The Kings athletic director will be responsible for booking the interscholastic meets. He will do so in consultation with the Missing Element track coaches so as to comply with their training schedule. The Kings will also supply day-of-meet volunteer coaches, but their job will be primarily “adult supervision.” They will not provide coaching that conflicts with the coaching provided by Missing Element, and will follow warm-up routines and other meet guidance as directed by the Missing Element coaches.

Relationship to other programs at Missing Element

The Kings track program is not a substitute for the Athletic Performance Program or even the weight training program in which some TCW players participate, nor are those programs substitutes for the track program. In the case of the Athletic Performance Program, it provides year-round, generalized athletic instruction and training that builds a foundation for competition in baseball, track, football, soccer, or other sports. Its purpose is not to teach sports-specific skills such as pitching, kicking, free throws, or running hurdles.

For more information please call John Harris at 512-470-0915 or email support@tomballkings.org.