At the beginning of track season, senior Leanna Seal had high hopes of conquering a school record in the long jump. Following a meet on March 10, Seal’s track coach congratulated her on setting a new school record with a jump of 14 feet, 6 inches. She was ecstatic.

Until recently. That is when her work on the track spread for yearbook revealed the harsh truth – Kaitlyn Hudgins (‘08) holds the school record in the long jump at 15 feet, 2 inches. To say Seal was disappointed would be an understatement.

So how does this happen?

At First Flight, coaches are the primary sources for keeping individual and team records. Now in our 10th year, we only have one coach who has been on the job from the start – men’s basketball coach Chad Williams. Track and cross country have had just two coaches; Ronnie Hudgins handled the responsibilities for the first eight seasons. Women’s basketball, on the other had, has had six coaches in 10 years.

When a new coach takes over, he or she can only base records on the feats he or she witnesses. Unless the previous coach left his or her records behind, the new coach has no other choice but to start the records all over again.

This explains why Seal thought she had broken the school record in the long jump. When Hudgins left, he took the track records with him. New coach Adam Swansen didn’t know what the school record was for that event. He thought he did, but he didn’t. When Hudgins heard that several track records had been broken in the first meet of the season, he knew there was a problem. Sadly, no one told Seal.

And what’s the solution?

This is where having an official school record keeper would be handy. When Jason Breiholz stopped coaching wrestling, he handed over all of his records to wrestler Ryan Mitchell (‘07). Mitchell has continued updating those records, despite living all the way across the state and coaching at a school near Asheville. He’s the closest thing we have to an “official record keeper” for our school, but he only keeps records for one sport.

There are plenty of ways our school could record the accomplishments of its athletes. We could create a system in which coaches update a team notebook in the athletic director’s office or coaches could be given rights to a master document in Google Docs that they update each season. Whatever system is chosen, something needs to be done immediately.

Athletic Director Ray Scott says at least one team’s records are getting a permanent home. Men’s and women’s track records will be displayed on two boards in the foyer outside of the gymnasium starting next fall. That’s something Hudgins has been lobbying for since he was the track coach.

That’s a start. And that’s good news for athletes like freshman Alana Bissell. After breaking the school record in the 100 and 200 at First Flight Middle School, she has her sights set on taking those records away from Kaitlyn Hudgins next year. And when she does, Bissell can be sure they are her records, because those times will be on display for the world to see.

Bissell and other athletes here should be able to see their accomplishments preserved for the future. Not doing so is a huge detriment to our school’s history.

Send comments to wellsje1210@daretolearn.org