HUDSON – The track team at Hudson’s David J. Quinn Middle School enjoyed a successful sophomore season.
Led by coaches Cindy Gaudere and Timothy Woodcome, the team had six athletes qualify for the Middle School Track and Field Championship in Gardner.
“We weren’t surprised that we had kids qualify,” Gaudere told the Community Advocate after the season had ended. “They’re pretty talented.”
The group – composed of 30-plus athletes in the fifth, sixth, seventh grades – practiced three days per week for roughly an hour after school. The coaches said the students sprint toward the track for practice after school ends.
“They always seem to enjoy it when they get together and do our practices… They seem to have a good time,” Gaudere said.
Some students joined the team to get active, while other team members are more focused on the competitions.
“Initially they don’t know each other, but then as they get into the events that they participate in, they get to know their teammates better. They form friendships and support their teammates in the events they do,” Woodcome said.
The students also had copious amounts of energy.
“I like to see their energy and enthusiasm. A lot of the kids were friends before joining the team together, so it’s kind of fun to see their interactions and… how they progress when they’re running and they’re throwing. It’s very exciting,” Gaudere said.
The group competed at meets against other area middle schools, including Tahanto Regional Middle School, St. Bernadette School, and P. Brent Trottier Middle School. Six Hudson students qualified for the state meet, where they competed against hundreds of students from dozens of schools around the Commonwealth.
“They were excited to be there, and we were proud of what they did,” said Woodcome.
The program is also meant to bolster future Hudson High School track teams. Both coaches mentioned how the team could become a “feeder program,” introducing athletes to the sport and cultivating talent before the students reach high school.
“We had a pretty light team at the high school, so it made sense to help start the middle school program, get it off the ground, and potentially feed the high school team in the coming years,” Woodcome said. “We’re trying to get these kids familiar with track and field and how we do it at the high school in Hudson so they can eventually matriculate.”
The coaches said that David J. Quinn Middle School Principal Jeff Gaglione was instrumental in setting up the program, thanking him for his continuous support of middle school athletics.
“Hopefully we’re reinvigorating track in Hudson,” Woodcome said.
