The marching band played as children sprinted back and forth from the long jump pit to the shot put circle. Amidst all the commotion was Scott Millson, bellowing into a megaphone. In 30 minutes, the opening ceremony for the eighth annual Fast Start track meet was set to begin. Fast Start, a yearly track meet for public elementary school students in the Central Florida area held at Showalter Field, was founded by Millson back in 2006. He thought the community needed an event to get kids introduced to track and field at an early age.
“What really was the genesis for me was that I had a similar event when I was a kid, and I used to complain to myself internally and with my wife about not having that opportunity for our kids at the time,” Millson said. After encouragement from his wife, Millson decided to initiate the meet, but he never thought it would get this big.
At first, his expectations were low. “The very first year we were hoping for 400 kids, and we got 750, which really just blew us away,” Millson explained. “And then every year, literally the eighth consecutive year now it’s gone up. So this year we have 1,060 kids signed up, which continues to blow my mind.”
What began as Millson’s brainchild has now become a fixture in the Central Florida running community. The meet has also become a launching point for several great high school careers in Central Florida. One of Millson’s favorite benefits of the meet has been “the kids that got introduced at an early age to track and field and running through Fast Start are now participating at the high school level and soon to be the collegiate level.”
In fact, this year’s high school seniors participated in the very first Fast Start meet eight years ago. Some careers launched by the track meet include two of Millson’s sons, Sam and Jesse Millson, who are now members of the Trinity Prep cross-country and track teams. Winter Park High School’s 2012 XC top five also consisted entirely of Fast Start alumni.
When asked about what influence the meet has had on these athletes, Millson said, “I’d like to think it had a small part in their desire to want to get into this sport and to stay with the sport.”
One of the most decorated Fast Start alums is Winter Park senior John Lindsey. A member of the inaugural Fast Start crew, Lindsey finished the cross-country season as the top overall Florida finisher at Nike Southeast Regional. Lindsey greatly enjoyed his experiences with Fast Start. “I think it’s a great event that helps the sport grow at all levels,” he said. “Fast Start introduced me to running at a young age when most kids just play sports like soccer or basketball. Without such exposure, who knows if I would be running today.”
He went on to say, “Getting involved in running through events such as fast start and the smile mile have helped me find my talent in running and are some of the reasons I got into the sport in the first place. Whether running the first grade fast start meet or your high school state meet, you run to compete and make great memories in the process.”
While Millson loves hearing success stories such as John Lindsey come from his meet. He said, “I love hearing the stories of a child who runs Fast Start and a parent will come up to me afterwards and say, ‘My kid had no idea they were that fast’ or ‘It gave them so much confidence.’That’s the real joy of it,” Millson continued, “whether it’s the kids that are going off to college on a scholarship, or whether it’s just the young child that found something that they’re good at and getting excited and motivated by it.”
As the opening ceremony commenced, it was hard to doubt Millson’s authenticity. Because as we watched the children parade down the track at Fast Start, ear-to-ear smiles on their faces, everyone seemed like a winner.
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