Karsten Edwards and John Lambert started Track Phi Track. It has always been a place where young athletes are held to a standard, and rise to it.
-28 years later, that club is still running. And Karsten Edwards is still on the track.
Track Phi Track began in DeKalb County. Today it's a Henry County program, training at fields across McDonough and Stockbridge and serving families from McDonough, Stockbridge, Hampton and Locust Grove.
The address changed. The standard didn't.
Our goal is “to nurture, develop and encourage each athlete to reach his or her fullest potential mentally, physically, academically, and spiritually.”
Yes, there are lines. Profanity, horseplay and disrespect toward a teammate, a parent, a coach, a chaperone or an official can end an athlete's time with us. We leave every facility clean, because we're fortunate to use good ones. And we ask parents to let coaches coach.
Standards like these are how a group of kids becomes a team, and how a team becomes a family.
Crystal McBride ran for Track Phi Track. Today she coaches endurance for the club. Chris McBride became a First Team All-American long jumper at Clemson, and now coaches sprints and jumps for us. Kristan Moses, Cedric Roberts and Chris were all coached by Karsten as athletes, before they joined him on the staff.
We even host our own meet, the Track Phi Track Elite Alumni Invite, in Stockbridge, because a club is only as real as the people who return to it.
Our athletes travel, too. Every off-season we prepare each one to compete at a national level and qualify for the AAU Junior Olympic Games, and the club's meet results go back to at least 2006, from the BAYTAF Classic in Tampa to indoor invitationals at LSU and Clemson.
“To be the best club in the country and the standard starts with us. We promote family, competition, and enjoyment for the sport of track and field. Lastly, it is a priority to ensure the club operates in the most cost-effective manner, making it affordable for all.”
“To evolve into an operation run by families and functioning in a business manner. Our desire is to set a new standard for track clubs in the nation.”
Behind every practice is a staff of coaches and managers who care about your child's growth. Here are a few of their stories.
Kristan is Head Coach of Track Phi Track. He came up through the club as one of Karsten Edwards' athletes, and now he leads the staff that coaches the next generation.
Kristan Moses is one of the people who came back. He was coached by Karsten Edwards as an athlete, and today he's Head Coach of Track Phi Track.
He leads the coaching staff, and the standard he holds it to is the one he was raised on: one team, one goal.
Cedric is Assistant Head Coach and leads the club's endurance events. He came up as one of Karsten Edwards' athletes, and now he's back on the track coaching alongside him.
Cedric Roberts is one of the people who came back. He was coached by Karsten Edwards as an athlete, and today he's Assistant Head Coach at Track Phi Track.
Cedric leads the club's endurance events, working with the athletes who run the distance races.
Jennifer is the club's General Manager. She joined the staff out of her love for the program, and today she keeps Track Phi Track running behind the scenes.
Jennifer Moses joined the Track Phi Track staff because she loves this program and the people in it. Her husband, Head Coach Kristan Moses, is part of that family too.
Today she's the club's General Manager, keeping the details, the schedule and the season moving so the coaches can coach.
Karsten co-founded Track Phi Track in Lithonia in 1998, and 28 years later he's still on the track coaching sprinters. He ran 10.24 in the 100m and 20.95 in the 200m, and was inducted into the Alabama A&M University Athletic Hall of Fame in 2014. Kristan Moses, Cedric Roberts and Chris McBride were his athletes before they joined him on staff.
In 1998, Karsten Edwards and John Lambert started Track Phi Track in Lithonia, Georgia. 28 years later, Karsten is still out on the track, still coaching sprinters.
He knows the event from the inside. As an athlete he ran a personal best of 10.24 in the 100m and 20.95 in the 200m, and in 2014 he was inducted into the Alabama A&M University Athletic Hall of Fame for men's track & field.
And some of the athletes he coached grew up to coach beside him. Kristan Moses, Cedric Roberts and Chris McBride were all Karsten's athletes before they joined him on the staff.
Crystal is one of our own. She competed for Track Phi Track at the LSU High School Indoor Classic in 2010 and 2011, running the 400m, the 1,600m and legs of the 4x800m relay. Today she coaches endurance events for the same club.
Crystal McBride didn't just find Track Phi Track as a coach. She ran for it first.
In January 2010 and again in 2011, she competed for the club at the LSU High School Indoor Classic: the 400m, the 1,600m, and legs of the 4x800m relay. Today she's back with the same club, coaching endurance events.
Chris is a Lithonia native who won the Class 5A state title in the long jump at Redan High School in 2015, then became a First Team All-American long jumper at Clemson. Karsten coached him as an athlete, and now he coaches sprints and jumps for the club.
Chris McBride grew up in Lithonia, the same town Track Phi Track began in. As a senior at Redan High School in 2015, he won the Class 5A state title in the long jump.
He went on to Clemson University, where he became a First Team All-American in the long jump, placing 5th at the NCAA Outdoor Championships, and a Second Team All-American indoors.
Karsten coached him as an athlete, and today Chris is back on the track with the club, coaching sprints and jumps.
Tara first came to Track Phi Track as a parent, with two children in the program. She fell in love with the family atmosphere, and now she helps run the team side of the club.
Tara Lawrence first came to Track Phi Track the way many of our families do: as a parent, with two children in the program.
She fell in love with the family atmosphere, and she's stayed on to help run the team side of the club. It's exactly what we mean by an operation run by families.
Dorothy rowed at the University of Miami at the Division I level, so she knows firsthand what it takes to balance training, school and a team. Today she helps run the team side of Track Phi Track.
Not everyone on our staff came up through track. Dorothy Clay rowed for the University of Miami at the Division I level.
It's a demanding team sport, and she brings an athlete's understanding of commitment to our team management.
More coaches' stories are on the way.
MEET THE FULL TEAM →Or one who's shy and needs a team. Or one who just needs a reason to show up. We've been building that reason since 1998.
“One Team, One Goal, Dominate!” is on every page of our athlete packet. It isn't just about winning races. It's about what happens to a young person who learns to commit to a process, trust delayed results, show up, and lead by example. The medals are the byproduct.