Stampede is a club that seeks to meet the needs of all youth track & field athletes within a “one club” structure. Every young athlete—regardless of his or her level of ability—experiences situations in competition that improve his or her ability to manage and navigate life more effectively (and successfully).
Also, every young athlete is ultimately competing for one purpose: to get the most out of his or her abilities. In other words, an athlete competes against himself or herself more than against any competition he or she meets on the track.
Stampede believes that every young athlete’s body and ability develops on its own timetable. An athlete that dominates at 8 years-old may get dominated by the same opponents in the same events when he or she is 14 years-old, and vice versa.
Young athletes benefit most from training and competing in circumstances that challenge his or her talent level without overwhelming it. A young athlete does not benefit when competing against athletes that are not yet at his or her level, nor when competing against athletes whose level of development is far beyond his or hers.
Thus, Stampede created a structure that meets the competitive needs of young athletes of all levels of talent and stages of development. Stampede offers each young athlete an opportunity to be a member of one of the following teams (depending upon which one Stampede views as the best fit for the athlete):
- Participatory Team—Designed to accommodate the needs of normally-developing and performing athletes.
- National Team—Designed to accommodate the needs of fast-developing young athletes who are at least 13 years-old, and have achieved verifiable performances that are among the best in the nation. These are young athletes that have met objective performance standards set by Stampede as a club, and Stampede can verify it to Stampede’s satisfaction.
The structure is two teams, but only one club. Members of the National Team and the Participatory Team are not distinguished from each other at track meets.
Additionally, an athlete who begins a season on the Participatory Team may receive an offer from Stampede during the season to move up to the National Team (if he or she delivers verifiable performances during the season that meet the objective standards set by the club, and if there is a roster spot available on the National Team).
