Rose family members Michaela, Michail, Michailyn, and Michael all brought home some serious hardware this summer from the USATF Championships and AAU Junior Olympic Games. In total they brought home nine medals including two golds, one silver, and three bronzes.
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These athletes are much more than just young superstars, they are a family who has come together around faith and track & field. Coached by their parents Michael and Marcia Rose they have grown to love the sport and perform at a very elite level.
" We didn't want to do a lot at a young age. They literally played track as a game at home inside and outside of the house. They played a lot outdoors like I did as a child growing up in Jamaica." - Head Coach Michael Rose
Despite being stars already in the sport, these athletes are far from where we see them being in just a few short years. Especially Michaela Rose who will be a 9th grader this year and boasts a 2:12 and 55 pr in both the 800 and 400m dashes.
Pictured is Bishop C V Russell Jr. who convinced Michael Rose to pick up coaching and really began this journey for the family when he accepted the job to coach the church group.
Starting at USATF in Kansas the family focused on individual events. Michaela was up first with her gold in the 800 and bronze in the 400. Winning more than his older sister was Michail Rose who took home the gold in the 80m hurdles and second in the high jump. Finally it was Michailyn chasing family records with her 2:33 5th place finish in the nine year old 800m run.
Following that productive week the family headed east to Michigan for the AAU Junior Olympic Games. At this prestigious meet the family focused on relays and brought home an additional four medals. Michailyn was a member of the 9/10 4x4 which placed 5th, Michael helped get bronze medals in the 4x1 and 4x4, and Michail finished 6th as a member of the 4x100 relay.
Even though they are all different ages, genders, and ability levels their training seems right now to be working extremely well.
"The coaching of your own children is easy especially when they have a passion for the sport," Coach Rose noted. "My wife and I are track & field fanatics. We love the sport and we are passionate about it. Training for the children is more like kids play. Because most of our kids have wanted to run since they were babies. At times it was difficult for my wife and RJ, our oldest, because of the teen moments. That has gotten better. Kids have been track babies all their lives."
"There was no specialization until they got older. RJ's specialization came as he got closer to high school age and we only specialize the others when they request to do certain events. Currently, only RJ practices more than three times a week and one of the three days for everyone is for field event work."
Those coaching tactics are definitely showing success as all their children and other members of the Faith in Action Ministries Athletics and Recreation team. Not only are the athletes receiving some serious help in their training but it seems to also be bringing the entire family together and as many coaches can attest, it makes their lives better too.
"We love our Church and Pastor. Therefore, everything we do surrounds God and His plan for us. There is a time and place for everything and we know that everything we do is to glorify our Father in heaven. I have a lot of great moments as a parent & coach and to pick one is very difficult. As a coach they are still doing great things. As a parent I would say my most favorite moment is when they are leading praise & worship at church. To hear them sing melts my heart because that something I'm not gifted to do." - Coach Michael Rose
"Faith in Jesus helps us stay focused. It's the reason why we homeschool in the first place. After every event we try to remember to give each other a high-five and say "Praise Jesus" because if it wasn't for Jesus we wouldn't be where we are. With this new attention the kids see when we travel to meets that they are role models and that other athletes gravitate to them. Even with this attention and higher stakes we remind them to not shy away from this but help and show Jesus when you can, stay focused on the event and show Jesus when you can." - Coach Marcia Rose
As you can see sometimes when you mix work, family, faith, and track all together you get one of the greatest things in life. You get a family with a strong faith, centered around track & field.