Track and field programs guide

In conjunction with Missing Element Sports, the Tomball Kings offer high school, junior high, and elementary school track and field programs for homeschooled student-athletes. Spring 2024 will be our first season of competition.

The track and field program provides high school and junior high student-athletes opportunities for both interscholastic and club competition. Only club competition is available to elementary school student-athletes.

Interscholastic competition takes the form of dual- or multi-school meets during the spring and culminates with the Texas Homeschool State Track and Field Championships. Interscholastic meets prior to the homeschool state championships feature public school, private school, and other homeschool opponents. Most of our opponents will be 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.

Club competition typically takes place within USA Track and Field ("USATF") or Amateur Athletic Union ("AAU") meets.

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

Registration

Please complete this form to register for track and field:

Schedule for Spring 2024 season

Practice begins March 9, 2024. Regular practice days and times are Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays from 5:30 PM to 7:00 PM.

The interscholastic season for high school and junior high athletes will end with the Texas State Homeschool Track and Field Championships May 3-4 in San Antonio. We encourage these athletes to continue their development in club competition beyond the homeschool championships, however.

The club season – everyone is eligible – does not end until the National Junior Olympics in July. Thus, conceivably and optionally, you can continue training until July.

It is possible that we will add alternate practice days, depending upon how many athletes we have and the level of interest in alternate days.

If your participation in baseball or other spring sports conflicts with the track and field meet or practice schedule, please disclose these conflicts to the Missing Element coaches.

Locations

Most training will take place at Missing Element Sports, 7315 Five Forks Dr, Spring, TX 77379 [map]. From time to time nearby tracks will be used, as needed.

With the exception of the Texas State Homeschool Track and Field Championships, which takes place in San Antonio this year, we will schedule meets in the Houston area to minimize travel requirements. The location of the National Junior Olympics varies from year to year and is outside of our control.

Costs

Please budget for these costs for the Spring 2024 season:

• $200 for Missing Element coaching and training, for the entire season. A discount is available for the second and third children from a household ($175 / $150, respectively). That will include your Missing Element Track Club uniform.
• Between $15 and $30 per track meet. Please budget for 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.
• Between $30 and $40 for a Kings track uniform (needed only by high school and junior high athletes).
• $30 per year for USA Track and Field ("USATF") membership, per student.
• $20 per year for the Tomball Kings Annual Program Fee, if you have not already paid it for baseball or other Kings programs.

You will pay (i) Missing Element directly for its coaching and training for the season, along with the club meets it schedules, (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—if needed—the annual program fee.

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.

Missing Element program role

The Kings will refer all its track and field athletes (boys and girls) to Missing Element for instruction and training. They must comply with the rules of the Missing Element track club and will be coached by Missing Element track coaches. Missing Element track coaches will determine in what events they may compete.

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.

Program goals

The Kings track program will be open to all homeschooled student-athletes, including TCW football and Kings baseball players, but the program will stand on its own and compete to become one of the best high school (interscholastic) track programs in the state, over a period of years, starting from what may be humble beginnings in Spring 2024. It will in no way be subservient to football or baseball. It will be for athletes who want to compete passionately and with dedication as track and field athletes.

If baseball players, or other spring-sport players, want to compete in the track program, they may do so with the permission of the Missing Element coaches, but will have to earn the right to do so according to standards set 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.