SD Prep Sports

SD Prep Sports: Track & Field

Community profile:
CV/San Diego Flyers have got youth track & field ... and champions

By Phillip Brents
Posted March 22, 2006

James E. Sanders had a dream. It started with one athlete. Now more than 200 are involved. A success story beyond imagination, Sanders, 64, has become a community hero to hundreds of young athletes with the Chula Vista/San Diego Flyers youth track and field club.

The Flyers program, which has grown to become the largest program of its kind in San Diego County, has been in existence for 12 years. It has served the needs of several hundred aspiring young athletes ages 5 to 19 years old. One has to be impressed with what Sanders and his coaching staff have created in the South Bay.

“To me, the Flyers are the feeder program for all the local high schools. I want the kids to be running faster when they leave the program than when they started — running faster but with less effort,” Sanders said. “I want to make sure that kids have a chance to succeed. That’s why you have to start young.”

As the largest youth track and field club in San Diego County, the Flyers have produced numerous county and regional champions, and even sent athletes to the pinnacle of the sport — the AAU Junior Olympic Games.
For those who remained with the program, they have become champions.

Last season, the Flyers produced 55 city champions, 34 county champions and six state champions. The Flyers won 18 event championships at the AAU regional meet and qualified 11 athletes in 17 events for the AAU national championships in New Orleans.

Amazingly, five athletes won championships at all three levels: Angelic Palomino (400 meters), Jessica Carrillo (200 and 400 meters), Catie Ledesma (800 meters), Andrew Fukushima (200 meters) and Alfred Haslerig (200 meters).

Carlos Leon finished third in the 3,000-meter run at the national finals with a time of 11:05.71 after finishing 16th in the 1,500-meter run. Ledesma was ranked as high as second in the nation in the 1,500-meters.

“We’re loaded with regional champions,” Sanders said. “It’s very hard to win at nationals, as you might suspect. But our times (at nationals) are still excellent times.”

Yet it started with just one athlete, Sanders’ daughter Nadia.

Nadia Sanders still holds the Southern California record in the 100-meter dash at 12.6 seconds, set when she was 15. She was a standout while attending three area high schools, winning league championships in the 100- and 200-meter dashes as a freshman at Eastlake High School, the 200-meter dash at Chula Vista High School and the 100-, 200, and 400-meter dashes as a senior at Hilltop High School.

She later attended San Diego State University and is now a successful businesswoman after taking a stab at her passion for modeling and acting.

The elder Sanders competed in both track and field and cross country while attending San Pedro High School. He still holds that school’s record of 21.4 seconds in the 200-meter dash, set in 1961.

After retiring in 1991 after working 25 years at Hughes Aircraft Co., Sanders started working with the Chula Vista Elementary School District as a noon duty supervisor at Greg Rogers Elementary School. He now holds the same position at Kellogg Elementary School and has served as an assistant running coach at Hilltop High School since 2000.

It was after retiring from the work force that he focused his efforts on one of his true loves: running.

The scope of the Flyers has become so great in the South Bay, in fact, that Sanders can attend high school cross country or track and field meet between Sweetwater Union High School District teams and find someone to cheer for. That, if nothing else, is Sanders’ local legacy.

“I’m teaching what I love — that is how to run the right way and have fun doing it,” Sanders said.

Sanders’ running philosophy does not simply focus on speed but how to develop an athlete’s running ability. "You can’t run at top speed unless you are in top condition. We start kids out running slower and then accelerate over a period of time so they are running smooth and relaxed," Sanders said.

That program is called GEARS. In first gear, children start jogging, then progress to half-speed (second gear), then to three-quarters-speed (third gear) and finally to top-speed (fourth gear). In second gear, Sanders pointed out, children all finish a race together, sometimes running eight abreast in a race.

“The purpose of this teaches kids technique skills without injury themselves,” Sanders said. “A lot of kids will just want to go out and beat someone. But running at top speed, especially when you’re not in proper condition to do that, can lead to injuries.”

Current high school standouts who have competed for the Flyers include Otay Ranch’s Brittney Bennett, Hilltop’s Tanya Valenzuela and Castle Park’s Julia Hernandez and Jorge Diaz — all championship-caliber athletes.

Two of the Flyers record-setting alumni include Lavelle Anderson, who made a homecoming appearance in the Holiday Bowl as a member of the Washington State football team, and DeMarco Sampson, now playing football at San Diego State University. Maurice Williams, another standout local high school runner, is now attending a college in Texas on a track scholarship.

Other names will be familiar with anyone who has followed area prep sports over the past decade: B.J. Hunt, D’Andre Byrd, Mark Whaley, Jackie Mandy, Marla Mason, Kristen Milliken, Tiffany Caddell and Selina Munoz. All reached greatness during their high school careers. All received invaluable experience at the youth level with the Flyers.
“We’re making up alumni T-shirts. When you see how many people are wearing them, you’ll be amazed,” Sanders said.
Anderson, with assistance from Sanders, is now coaching high school sports in Washington.

But teaching youngsters how to run and compete in meets is only part of the equation, Sanders said. Lessons in life are also there to be learned on the track. Sanders has that angle covered as well.

“My grandmother was the story-teller in my family and I learned great lessons from the stories on life. I just want to give the children of San Diego some of those great stories. It’s my way of giving back,” he said.

The Flyers’ track season begins in January and ends at the end of July. Practices are held at Chula Vista High School on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday evening from 5:30 to 7 p.m.

The club’s first meet usually takes place the third week in March; the last meet usually takes place in mid-July. There are approximately 10 to 15 meets throughout the season. Most meets are held all day on a Saturday but other meets will take place on both Saturday and Sunday.

Athletes can still join the team. For more information, call (619) 420-7316.