In 1975, Coach Doug Johnson established the Westside Relays, a track and field event for elementary students in Petaluma, California. Celebrating its 50th anniversary on May 20, 2025, the event continues to bring together students from 15 schools. Participants engage in various activities including sprints, jumps, and discus. Coach Johnson aimed to offer a supportive environment for students to develop camaraderie, competitiveness, and confidence. Many children gain self-assurance through participation, altering their perspectives on their athletic abilities, underlining the positive influence of the program.
"You think about really how influential and how many kids have been touched by this event. Over 50,000 kids have ran in this program."
"The kids have fun. The parents have fun," Jeff Johnson said. "They're all wearing their school colors. The red, the green, the blue, the yellow. There's this beehive of activity."
"If you talk to a lot of the kids that run in the relays, and they have an event, they can't do, and then all of a sudden, they get in it... And, I think what it does through the relays is build their self-confidence."
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