MINT HILL, NC – The Stallion Track Club Inc. is making great strides in the community by “running” a program that benefits youth interested in track. Talented head Coach Darrell Pegram loves giving back to the community in the best way that he can, through his love for Track and Field. He is currently the Girls’ Head Track Coach of the Outdoor Team and the Assistant Coach for the Cross Country and Indoor Track Team at Independence High School.
Darrell, better known as Coach P, established the Stallion Track Club Inc. in 1984 to be a place where youth could train and learn through opportunities that Track and Field can provide for them in life. The club is for youth ages 5 years old to 19 years old. They meet 4 days a week at Independence High School for training.
Providing youth with an interest in Track at a younger age than schools typically do gives them an opportunity to train, learn the right skills, and enhance their talent at a younger age in order to allow them to reach higher goals and learn discipline along the way. Track club is a wonderful opportunity for youth to get scholarships to higher education. Most of us think mainly about Football and Basketball as the way that young adults are able to get scholarships for college when in reality there a far more opportunities within the sport of Track.
There are several advantages to joining a track club. Not only does the club provide the discipline and training to forward one’s life potential, but it also allows youth the opportunity to train all year round. They have three seasons: Cross Country, Indoor Track & Field, and Outdoor Track & Field. Along with training opportunities, members of the club have access to mentoring services along with information about nutrients. A goal of the program is to provide youth with knowledge of the nutritional values of foods. This is designed not only to help athletes train but help encourage the value of food to help prevent childhood obesity. The knowledge not only is provided to the members of the club, but also to their families to help combat the growing rate of childhood obesity.
“To be the best, you have to do what the best do” is a quote that Mr. Pegram not only lives by but also a quote that has provided success in his life. Through his training in life and experiences, he is able to provide the community with the knowledge and know-how to be able to compete at a level that will bring the same success to their lives. Joining Stallion Track Club Inc. is an experience for youth to not only gain the experience and training but also be provided with an understanding that track can be a “vehicle to get you to better places in life.” The program has provided much success for many.
Stallion Kids is a track club designed for younger children in the program that are currently not involved in a track program at school. Morgann Pride from Ballantyne is a part of this program. Recently, she finished second in the 12-year-old AAU region 25 80-meter hurdles.
Niko Henderson from Mint Hill finished first in the 13-year-old division, AAU region 25, 800 meters. Nylah Pride from Ballantyne at 6 years old finished second or third in her events at the AAU Region. The events that she competed in were the 100-meter, 200-meter, and 400-meter dash. Jalen Matthews from Mint Hill recently attended the AAU Primary Nationals in Florida. In this event, only children aged 6 years old and under compete. Jalen was able to place 9th in the 100-meter, 7th in the 200-meter, and 4th in the 400-meter. He also qualified at the AAU Region 25 in the 8 and under age group for the 200m dash.
At Stallion Track Club Inc. there are also older youth hitting milestones beyond their years. Khari Stedman from Mint Hill finished third in the 17- to 18-year-old division at the AAU Region 25 in the 110 high hurdles. Ian Pride from Ballantyne is making great strides in his track career through the club. He will be attending the AAU Junior Olympics held in Greensboro where he will compete in the 400-meter, 800-meter, and 1500-meter. Jasmine Stokes from Mint Hill finished second in the 400 hurdles at the Russell E Blunt/ East Coast Invitational held in Durham.
Stallion Track Club Inc. is just not any track club. It is a club that provides youth with opportunities that will provide throughout life and allows them to build a community of like-minded people that will take their training and abilities to the next level. If you are interested in learning more about their program please visit their website at https://www.leaguelineup.com/welcome.asp?url=stalliontrackclubinc or reach out to Darrell Pegram at (980) 228-6291
