Vugtaveen focuses on next rung
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Updated: November 19, 2009 5:06 PM
Michelle Vandepol
The Observer
Grade 12 Unity Christian School student Travis Vugteveen is taking his experience this summer representing Canada in track at the World Youth Championships in Italy and deciding where to go from there.
He has been focused exclusively on running (track and cross country) for the last two years, but before that he played soccer for ten.
The journey to the World Youth Championships started with training for the track season in January which was augmented by training three times a week in Abbotsford at the Valley Royals Track Club.
“We went to a number of meets in both the US and BC to get ready for the high school season, in which our main goal was to make the 800m final at the High School provincials,” he says. His first race came in at 2:02 for 800m. With each race after until his personal best was 1:56. The Canadian Team has a standard of 1:54.40 for their team selection so Vugteveen’s coach suggested he fill in the forms to get in the running.
“It was the first time I had even heard about the World Youth Championships,” he says. He won the BC High School Championships with a time of 1:54.12, but the pressure was still on. Only the top two Canadian athletes in each event would be selected. Intense training and a few races later, Vugteveen had lowered his time to 1:53.14 inviting the call that would get him to the World Youth Championships, representing Canada in Italy. Only a week later, he was off to Italy with 44 other Canadian youth athletes.
“It was an amazing experience where I met and competed with the best 17-year old athletes in the world,” he says. Of the 180 countries represented, there were 64 runners in the 800m. There were 8 qualifying heats and the top 24 times advanced to the next day’s semi-finals. Vugteveen advanced with his time of 1:53:44, not fast enough to make the final, but fast enough to finish 17th .
His usual training schedule sees him spending about 10-12 hours a week on sport. He goes into Abbotsford to train on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday; and runs on his own Sunday, Monday, and Wednesday. He does some core and flexibility exercises about 3-4 times a week and during track season he trains with the school once a week and runs in about 5 high school races.
Vugteveen, like other athletes serious about improving, is focused on the next rung, but not so much that the fun has drained out of the sport.
“I think it’s important to set both long term and short term goals, but not to put too much pressure on yourself because you have to remember that the main reason you’re involved in your sport is because you enjoy it. You have to be willing to put a lot of time in without being forced to do it,” he says. But that doesn’t mean he is any less driven.
“I find setting goals a bit difficult because you never know what is possible. I would love to win the provincials again this year, run the 400 in under 50 seconds, lower my 800m time as much as possible, and try to make the Canadian World Junior Team in the summer,” he says. He is looking forward to running competitively in university, but has yet to decide on which one he’d like to attend. Not surprisingly, he is interested in how the body works.
“In terms of study, I am interested in the kinesiology program and maybe becoming a physiotherapist,” he says. We will be watching from behind his cloud of dust.
