1 Photo
Dylan Cashin, left, and Liam Fowkes are starting up the Bonac Bolts youth track club.
Citing a need to get East Hampton’s youth on the move, a pair of East Hampton juniors, Dylan Cashin and Liam Fowkes, are starting up the Bonac Bolts Track Club, which will be free to all students in grades two through six from within the district, which includes Montauk, Amagansett and Springs schools and John M. Marshall Elementary School in East Hampton.
The club will meet on Sundays, starting March 5, at the East Hampton High School track at 10:30 a.m., which will also be where those interested can register. Both Cashin and Fowkes, who are runners themselves, are looking forward to a strong turnout.
“The first week, we might have a little bit of a smaller group, but I think as parents find out and kids tell their friends, the kids will be 100 percent down to want to do this,” Fowkes said. “And it doesn’t take a huge commitment. It’s not like Little League, where you have to be somewhere at various days. I think parents will be happy that there will be something for their kids to get a little Sunday morning run in.”
Cashin, who also runs track in the winter and spring seasons, said she initially came up with the idea when she was running with her friends up the island who had mentioned they had running clubs through their schools when they were growing up. Not having that herself, Cashin thought that such a club could benefit local youth on multiple levels.
Cashin said that even though it’s called a track club, and it’ll be taking place on a track each week, it’s very much an introductory club to running in general.
“After COVID, there has been lack of youth participation in sports, and that was initially how this started and how it got rolling,” she explained. “And it’ll be more than just running as well. We’ll be working on self esteem, building confidence. It will certainly benefit them physically, but we’re also going to try and build their emotional and mental health with empowerment activities. We’ll be doing the workouts for however long they can do them for, taking breaks along the way and then going again.”
East Hampton Athletic Director Kathy Masterson said both Cashin and Fowkes came to her with the idea back in October. Masterson liked what she heard so much she had both student-athletes present their ideas before athletic committees and the School Board, getting the proper clearances before moving forward with it.
What Masterson appreciates the most about it all was the initiative that Cashin and Fowkes took to come up with everything on their own.
“This isn’t an adult-driven thing. It’s two 16-year-old kids and that in and of itself is an amazing accomplishment,” she said. “The fact that they want to improve their track and cross country programs and give local kids another healthy outlet to learn is just great. They’re all about giving back and the fact that they’re only juniors is amazing. I get to have a whole another year with them and they’re such great role models for the younger kids.”
While Cashin said she didn’t model her club directly after i-tri, the girls empowerment group that teaches young girls how to train for a triathlon for a year before actually competing in one in the summer, she does see similarities between the two. Especially given the fact that the ultimate goal of the track club is to have all of the kids run in the May Day 5K at Main Beach, a race that Cashin started along with friend, teammate and classmate Ryleigh O’Donnell, and was a huge success in its first year last year.
Cashin also said that she would really like to get different athletes and teams involved at the practices, such as having lacrosse athletes come down one Sunday, possibly baseball players come down another Sunday. She would like to get everyone in the community and school on board.
“The elementary school kids, they look up to high schoolers in a different way and this way they can be more connected,” she said. “I’m trying to get everyone involved, and I’ve already gotten some emails and text messages about it. I wasn’t expecting that many so fast, so I’m really excited. A lot of people are asking about it, so I’m excited.”
Both Cashin’s and Fowkes’s love for running is what really drove the need for such a club. Cashin is one of the top runners on the varsity cross country team and one of the top distance runners on the indoor and outdoor track teams. Fowkes also runs cross country in the fall and is currently a starter on the playoff-bound boys basketball team. And while Fowkes had typically run track in the spring, he said he is taking this spring off to focus on the track club and his studies.
“My brother [Ryan] is a DI runner at George Washington, and so I’ve been around running my whole life because of him,” Fowkes explained. “He’s shown me, and also through my own running, how much you can get out of the sport.”
Those interested in the club can email Cashin at dylan.cashin@ehschools.org or Fowkes at liamfowkess@gmail.com for more information.
