I’ve got to hand it to Tecca Kilmer and Turkey Creek Middle School: their annual Olympic Day games are a lot of fun to cover.
Part of it is the scope of the event itself. The football stadium’s bleachers fill with classmates. Teachers and coaches — including Durant High baseball coach Butch Valdes, who has been helping nearly every year since he was a TCMS teacher — come out to manage the events and coach up the kids. The school does a great job of making it feel like more than just your average field day.
The school has been hosting Olympic Day for around 13 years, according to the staff, and offers something for everyone. Even the special needs students get involved and put their skills to the test, which is awesome.
With dozens of events for kids to participate in, from track and field to disc golf, there’s enough to keep anyone from getting bored. And it was really cool to see the kids giving it their best efforts in the more physically demanding events, such as the foot races and the long jump. It shows the kids love Olympic Day just as much as the TMCS staffers do.
When I was in middle school, we didn’t have anything like this.
When I lived in New York, there was one year when we painted t-shirts and played with water balloons in a grassy area right outside of our classroom. I remember putting the number 7 on the back of my shirt for Doug Flutie, but it didn’t really help me throw the balloons any better. That was when I was about 10 years old, and it was the only field day I ever did while I was up north.
I moved to Florida just before I started eighth grade, and I don’t recall doing any kind of field day. There was one day in our technology class where we made little rockets and launched them into the air, but that’s all I’ve got.
When I left, I couldn’t help but wonder why this isn’t a thing at other area schools. I’ve covered similar events at schools, such as Bailey Elementary, and Walden Lake Elementary’s annual kickball tournament is also a great time, but I haven’t been to anything at other schools with this kind of scope and structure. Adding some light stakes — in this case, medals — to a sports-themed event always makes it more fun.
I’d love to see other schools adopt Olympic Day, or something similar, in the future. If enough middle schools participate, how cool would a tournament featuring athletes from many Plant City-area middle schools be?
Contact Justin Kline at jkline@plantcityobserver.com.