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Sports

Westchester Striders Strive for Excellence On and Off the Track

The hardware won by the Peekskill-based Westchester Striders Track Club is not to be outdone by the friendships built in the process.

As the saying goes in track: "our sport is your sport's punishment." While watching the Westchester Striders Track Club practice on Torpy Field in Depew Park, it is easy to see what that really means.

The Peekskill-based children’s club practices four times a week and starts practice with a two-and-a-half mile warm up each time. Then comes rigorous stretching, sprints and breathing exercises. While the practices are challenging, the kids remain dedicated out of love for the sport and for the relationships they have formed in the club.

"My favorite part is all the different people I get to meet and how much the relationships have grown with all my friends,” said Lindsay Sabella, 12, of Yorktown.

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“We all improve together,” Catherine Pennacchio, 12, of Briarcliff Manor added.

Of the 28 boys and girls that currently make up the club, most did not know each other before signing up for the Striders. However, it was not long before they bonded over their love of running.

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“I like how I got to meet new friends from different parts of the County,” said Chelsea Ogindo, 13, of Peekskill.

The club welcomes boys and girls aged six and up from all over the Westchester area. Of the 28 members, fourteen are from Peekskill, five are from Cortlandt Manor and the rest hail from Yorktown Heights, Putnam Valley, Mohegan Lake, Cold Spring, Briarcliff Manor and Wallkill.

“It's just a great little melting pot of a bunch of kids that could be playing video games or sitting at home,” said parent and Club President Steve Sabella. “But they're on the track getting yelled at, running and participating.”

Spirits are high these days, as this particular practice is on the heels of Pennacchio, Lindsay Sabella, Shenece Davis and Chelsea Ogindo’s second place finish in the 4x400 meter relay at the Adidas Grand Prix at Randall’s Island on June 11. The foursome finished the relay with a time of 4:14.8, more than ten seconds faster than their qualifying time.

This is not the first time the club has brought home some hardware, and they certainly don’t think it will be the last. The club heads back to Randall’s Island tomorrow, June 25 where the Striders will be competing against other clubs based in the New York Northeast Youth Invitational, at Icahn Stadium.

The club, founded in 2002, is a tax-exempt, charitable organization, which participates in sanctioned Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) and United States Track & Field Association (USTAF) events year-round.

One of the most charitable contributors to the Striders is one of the club’s coaches, Ted Bitter of Peekskill.

“Teddy's really the driving force,” said Steve Sabella. “He'll never tell you that. You'll never get him to talk about anything but the kids, which kind of makes him a very special guy.”

“I ran for years, but now I just enjoy coaching the kids,” said Coach Bitter, who assumed coaching duties in 2004, runs the practices alongside fellow coach, Winston Lewis.

Both Bitter and Lewis were top runners before turning to coaching. From 1974-90, Bitter was a national class distance runner. He has competed with the North Shore Track Club, Prospect Park Track Club and Central Park Track Club.

Lewis began running as a child and was a sprinter for the Rice High School track team. He also ran for the eighth division while serving as a paratrooper in Germany from 1962-63 in the United States Army.

With their experience, it’s not uncommon for former and non-members to frequent practices in order to accrue the coaches’ services. On this day, two members of the Walter Panas High School track team joined in on the action.

The club is truly family affair-Strider parents only make up the Board of Directors. “They’re my committee,” said Bitter. 

The Striders don’t just strive for excellence on the track, either. They believe the hard work and discipline the children acquire in their training will translate into their schoolwork as well as other walks of life. Since its inception, every member of the Striders has gone on to graduate from high school, with some even receiving track scholarships to college.

Bitter is tolerant of many things, but the one thing he does not allow at his practices is the word “no,” and the message is obviously sinking in.

“You can do anything, never say never,” said Pennacchia in regards to what she has learned the most. “It’s all about teamwork and you warm up together and you pass together and you root for each other.”

While Sabella, Davis, Pennacchio and Ogindo are certainly proud of their second place finish, they hope to do even one better on Saturday when they once again run the 4x400, as well as a number of other events.

For more information or to apply for membership, prospective parents can send an email to info@WestchesterStriders.org. The membership fee is $25 and monthly dues are $20. 

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