This summer, local fifth- through eighth-graders have the chance to learn more about the world’s oldest sport by trying out some of its events themselves.

The Summer Track Series, held on Mondays throughout the month of July at 6:30 p.m. at Bishop Hendricken High School, is free and open to boys and girls in the age group looking to try the sport out. All kids need to do to participate is to show up at the Hendricken track. 

Tom Harkins, the high jump coach for Hendricken’s track team, had planned to have a summer program for a few years, but it hadn’t worked out until this year. The event is free and open to all, he said, so that anyone interested in track and field can get experience

“It’s just our passion,” Harkins said. “We want kids involved in this stuff, and I think doing it on Monday evenings allows kids to get home from work, their parents to make dinner and then come over to Hendricken.”

While the series is free, anyone attending is highly encouraged to bring a canned good that can be donated to the Rhode Island Food Bank.

Harkins said that both opening the clinic up to all and collecting donations as an important part of the clinic and in keeping with Hendricken’s ethos.

“That’s just part of the mission of our school,” he said.

The first clinic, held on July 1, focused on teaching kids jumping skills, with high jumps and long jumps the particular focus.

Harkins said that the attendance, which included 12 students with some coming from as far as Pawtucket, was successful. What made the first day a success, Harkins said, was how much fun the kids had, with some asking him if they could stay late and do a few more jumps.

“Too often at these kinds of camps, you get one kid doing something and ten kids watching,” Harkins said. “And we were able to involve the kids, really, for an hour and a half, almost nonstop.”

Harkins said that he hopes the three future clinics will have greater attendance, noting that storms this past Monday likely led to some people getting scared off. Next Monday’s forecast is partly cloudy weather with a high of 87 degrees.

According to Harkins, other coaches and athletes will show up to help with events that they specialize in, including John Manning, Hendricken’s sprints coach, Jim Doyle, Hendricken’s head cross country coach and Harkins’ daughter, Katrina, who was a hurdler at Stonehill College. Current Hendricken track athletes- as well as recent graduates- were also in attendance to help teach the kids skills.

“It’s better to have too many supervisors there than not enough,” Harkins said.

Next Monday, the clinic will focus on teaching kids throwing- specifically, teaching kids about the shot put and discus.

July 15’s clinic will focus on sprinting and hurdling, and July 22’s will focus on middle- and long-distance running. There will not be a clinic on July 29.

Harkins said that any kids interested in attending do not have to commit to all four events- they can show up only for whatever they’re most interested in learning.

“We’d love them to come to all four, but they don’t have to,” Harkins said. “We don’t want to pressure people into doing that.”

Track and field, according to Harkins, has long been overlooked in the city, with him calling it the “red-headed stepchild” of Warwick youth sports. He hopes that this program can change that- and with the Olympics coming up just afterwards, help create a lifelong love for track and field.

“There’s something in track and field for every kind of kid,” Harkins said.