The New York Times had an interesting article on Track Florida and a run-in it had with the NCAA that was its ultimate demise.
Read Here
The McIntosh Foundation behind Track Florida appears to be the same group that has its name on the
track building at FSU.
Track Florida was one of the best teams money could buy. They were made up of elite high school athletes through out the state of Fl. Julie Reynolds was the only age group kid on the team.Money was no object the founder of the club son went to FSU.
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youneedprayer I was a part of that group and it was all age group kids. One of my athletes was a 15 year old that competed in the national JO's and ran 3:56 1500 and an 8:36.49 3K.
I ran for Track Florida and that is actually me in the far right of the picture with sunglasses (1500/3000 competitor). Track Florida was a great program. I got to run in national meets that I otherwise would not have been fortunate to compete in. At the time my middle school / early high school coach was Scott Gowan (formerly from Port St. Joe) and Coach Dick Malear was from Palm Beach Lakes. Julian Reynolds was phenominal as well as Stephen Adderly during that time...there were many others but names are eluding me at the present.
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runninman222 Just to clear things up Track Florida was a great team.The team was made up of young people ages 15-16 and 17-18 and because Julia was an age group phenominal 14& under doing that time were known as age group kids.
At the USATF Southern Zone Indoor this past weekend, I was talking to Tony Parrilla, two-time Olympian, about Track Florida. He ran on the team and I was one of the coaches in 1990. It was a great opportunity Mr. McIntosh gave these kids. It was funny that there were hints that it was a recruiting tool for FSU, but only one runner on the team (John Rothell) ended up at FSU.
I was one of the original coaches on Track Florida and can tell you it was the best thing that ever happened to Florida Track and Field. It allowed young people to be showcased all over the USA and many received scholarships because of it. College coaches recruit from the ranks of Junior Olympians--much as do Club Volleyball, soccer, AAU basketball, and swimming. Track Florida was no different. There is an NCAA rule about what student-athletes can receive as compared to non student-athletes. There was a great deal of resentment in the TAC due to Track Florida's dominance at the Junior Olympics. It was the forerunner and model for many of the clubs that exist today. The bottom line, however, is FOOTBALL. We had many outstanding athletes who were also great football players. There was a great deal of friction between college football powers in the State of Florida when it came to recruiting these athletes--I will give you one guess as the schools involved in this mess. Of course, just as today, lie after lie is spun by college football coaches when it has to do with recruiting when they lose an athlete. It is always someone else's fault and not their own ineptness. Dick Melear was an outstanding coach and individual who passed away in 2008. He was a mentor and a friend to me and I owe him a great deal. The Mcintosh Family is a very caring, loving, and socially conscious family who strongly believes in equal opportunity for all. Many athletes have been denied the opportunity over the years because of the demise of Track Florida
