The Maple Leaf Track Club is set to begin its 14th season under Mark Mendeszoon and Mark Shafer, who started the club in 2001, with help from Chardon varsity coach Eric Bartley, among others.
It’s history speaks for itself.
Katelyn Feigt — formerly Williams — graduated from West G in 2007, the oldest of four Williams who all ran in the Maple Leaf Track Club.
“Maple Leaf opened up so many doors for me in my athletic career, and I would have never ended up having a great D-I college experience if it weren’t for Doc,” Feigt said, referring to Mendeszoon, a surgeon.
Her sister Kelly, a 2011 graduate, followed in her footsteps at West Virginia, and is now in her third year running.
“Maple Leaf Track Club defined me as a runner,” she said. “I learned not only the fundamentals of running from Doc, Coach Bartley, and Nick Continenza, but developed a love and passion for the sport as well.”
And Paedyn Gomes became involved in the Maple Leaf Track Club when some teammates told him about it at West Geauga High School.
“It has proven to be one of the most positive experiences in my high school career,” said Gomes, who will run for Yale this fall. “I received instruction not only on my sprinting and hurdling technique but about safety, nutrition and preparing for athletics at the college level. I also met many new and great friends from other area schools.”
Gomes, a senior, is a favorite to qualify and even win a state championship in Columbus June 6 and 7.
The Maple Leaf Track Club has raised several million dollars in scholarships by promoting local athletes, Mendeszoon estimates, nd has put about $30,000 back into the Chardon Track and Field program.
For instance, with the pay to play fees in Chardon being $350, the club raised enough to give counselors, who are current track athletes working with the younger kids of the summer camps, about $250 toward that fee last year.
Mendeszoon, a runner from New York who moved to the area in 1995, remembers his desire to get back into coaching.
“We sat down with (then-Chardon athletic director) Bob Francis and wanted a unified program,” Mendeszoon said. “This was such a big football town then. We started with 25 kids that first year.”
But the club kept building, reaching its peak in 2006-07, when Emil Heineking and Luke Grau were breaking school records.
The club has begun hosting a summer track clinic for kids ages 5 to 13 from June 10 to July 10 at the Chardon High School track.
The $100 registration fee includes a T-shirt, competition singlet and entry fees to dual meets. Other meets could include optional fees.
Also the club’s Wednesday night track meets — June 11,18, 25 and July 2 — are open to all ages, with a cost of just $5 per event or $10 for unlimited entries.
“That’s the part I like most about the club,” Mendeszoon said from his office at Precision Orthopaedic in Chardon. “It transcends school colors. You have some of the best coaches in the area training your kids.”
Runners from Mentor, West G, Crestwood, Grand Valley, Cardinal and Gilmour are just a sliver of the schools represented.
“When the season is over, we train together and that’s what builds a bond,” Mendeszoon said.
Said Kelly Williams, “The coaches have the ability to see untapped potential in athletes and coach them to develop into OHSAA state champions, NCAA All-Americans, NCAA Champions, and even Olympians.
“I would encourage any student who is currently running track or considering track to sign up with the Maple Leaf Track Club,”?added Gomes, “so that they can benefit from the coaches’ expert instruction and knowledge to maximize their potential as an athlete.”
Planned club events include two cross country meets this falls and starting an indoor team for younger athletes with the help of Bartley and Shafer.
For more details about the clinic, visit www.mapleleaftrackclub.com or email Mendeszoon at dr1zoom@roadrunner.com.