Darren Jones “Slacking off is Not an Option”
Darren Jones believes that the biggest reason the Landstown Eagles boys’ track team is successful is the sense of team-mindedness that each of its members exhibit. “Even though many people view track and field as an individual sport,” Jones explains, “each event scores points so it really is a team effort. That’s the good thing about Landstown. We don’t focus so much on ourselves as we do on each other.”
The Eagles’ team spirit has shown positive results. Last year, their 4x100 team, of which Jones was a part, was first in Virginia. He explains that there is a lot that goes into running a state-level race. “Strength, speed and agility,” he explains succinctly. “Those are the things that win races.” Jones focuses much of his effort on strength training to boost his times. Beyond the technical elements of the sport, however, there are several things that support good performances, according to Jones. “You need to eat right and make sure you’re practicing everyday. Slacking off is not an option.”
Slacking off is something that Jones definitely does not do. At the team level, he has won the MVP several times as well as the “Fastest Man” award. He also claims the title of Beach District champion and Eastern Region runner-up in several events in addition, of course, to the state title last year.
In his strongest area, sprinting, Jones runs several events for the Eagles, including the 100 meters, 200 meters, 4x400 and 4x100 relays. This season, he should do particularly well in the 100 meters and the 4x400 relay, which he admits he is putting a lot of effort into improving.
Jones is particularly looking forward to returning to the Penn Relays, an annual track and field meet at the University of Pennsylvania. Although Landstown has done well in the past at this national meet, Jones explains that last year was a heartbreaker for the Eagles. “We came in ninth, just one one-hundredth of a second away from advancing. This year we want to go back there and be victorious.”
Coach Tom Anderson agrees with Jones. “That was a long bus ride home,” he says. “I vowed that we would work hard enough so that would not happen again.” But Anderson is glad to have his athletes competing on different levels. “We keep our goals the same. Some people believe that they are simplistic,” he explains, but it makes for a well-rounded team. “We want to be able to compete well at the district, region, state and national levels. If we can get some All-Americans and state champions along the way, that’s great.”
Landstown will likely see some high-caliber performances this year given the speed and experience of its members. In addition to Jones, several sprinters will do well, including Jamal Bliden at 200 meters and Kevin Wilson at 400 meters. According to Anderson, “people hear more about Landstown’s sprinters but we pride ourselves in our consistency in all events.” In addition to sprinting, Jon Bunkner should lead the Eagles in distance events. Look for R.J. Wilson to lead Landstown in field events including the shotput and discus.
Anderson conducts his practices similar to those one might find at the collegiate or professional level. “We basically have five components,” he explains. “There is the warm-up, the stretching, the plyometrics and resistance, the work-out, and finally the cool-down.” By following this regimen at each practice, Anderson ensures that all of the areas necessary for proper development are covered. “We have even had collegiate athletes and others come out and train using our program,” he says.
The Eagles should be able to follow up last year’s successes with similar results this season. For the past three seasons, they have claimed the title of Beach District champions during both the indoor and outdoor seasons. They have also managed to consistently place well in the region and last year they tied with Great Bridge in the outdoor season as state champions.
Anderson is optimistic that 2006 will yield similar results. “Many of these guys have been on the team for four years,” he explains. “We have been constantly improving. Landstown has accomplished in only a few years what other teams haven’t done in twenty. There are expectations for us to perform well and I know we can.”
