Jamaica track wins Glickman award

Just by detailing the commute his girls take to various citywide events in the fall and winter made Alan Coles, the Jamaica track coach, tired.
Wake up at 5:30 a.m. … take a bus or two to meet the team … hop on the subway for almost another two hours until they’d arrive at Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx during cross-country season or the New Balance Track & Field Center at The Armory in Washington Heights during the indoor track & field season. “We have a big problem with transportation here,” the long-time coach in his 22nd year said. “You have some schools that own a van or something. It usually costs $160 a day to rent a van, and then bring us home. I wish I could afford it.”
After the long commute, it is time to run. It is not the easiest way to remain one of the better squads in the borough and the entire city. “It’s a lot of work,” sprinter Tamarra Jenkins said. “It’s like an extra school day.”
Thankfully, the Beavers won’t have to worry about such burdens any longer. On Saturday at the New Balance Games, they were awarded the eighth annual Marty Glickman Award for outstanding achievement in academics, team spirit and community service - richly deserved recognition that comes with a $10,000 check that Coles will use to rent a team van and buy new sneakers for his 25 runners.
In their first year up for the scholarship, Jamaica won because of the team’s combined average of 80.33, but more so, for the work they’ve done in the community.
The Beavers took part in several charity events, including the American Cancer Society’s “Making Strides Against Breast Cancer” walk the last two years; the New York City Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society’s 2006 Bike Tour; as well as the 12th Annual “Walk the Walk” for the Kidney and Urology Foundation of America, in which they set up for the day’s events. They also serve as tutors for fellow classmates.
“I was ecstatic,” said Coles when he first heard they were receiving the award that pays homage to Glickman, the late track star and sports broadcaster. “The first thing I did was let the kids know. They did put in a lot of time for it.”
Because he has no assistants, Coles had never instituted a team-wide program like this before. But when he found out about the possible gains, he spoke with them about striving for such an award, emphasizing the monetary benefits it cold reap. Once they got going, the Beavers seemed to thoroughly enjoy the extra time they put in.
“It was a learning experience,” Jenkins said. “For me personally, I learned something new and I was doing something good for myself and the community.”
“I wanted to instill with them the volunteer aspect,” Coles added. “The main purpose was for them to start going out in the community to help other people.”
Under Coles, Jamaica has carved out quite a niche in girls track. They’ve won four city championships, the last in 1995. The Beavers are the borough’s defending indoor champions the last three years and outdoor champions the last two, and last season, they finished second in both the freshman and sophomore outdoor city championship.
This latest gain should only help the cause.