Tina Campbell is a sports writer with seven years of professional writing experience, covering youth athletics, track and field, softball, athlete development, training, competition, and sports equipment. Her work includes practical guides for athletes and parents on race strategy, field events, recruiting, scholarships, rules, equipment selection, and the decisions families face as young athletes move through school and competitive sports.
Tina also has a professional background in healthcare and holds qualifications in the health sciences. That background supports her work on subjects involving training, recovery, injury prevention, and athlete health, while her sports writing focuses on turning detailed rules, technical concepts, and research into information athletes and families can actually use.
Most girls start in rec ball, and for a beginner that is usually the right place to be. What parents need to know before she starts: when travel makes sense, what it really costs, the equipment she actually needs, and when the schedule becomes too much.
Aug 24, 2026
Fastpitch and slowpitch share the same basic sport, but the pitching, rules, equipment, baserunning, and style of play are not the same. Here is what actually separates the two — and which version fits a player's goals.
Aug 24, 2026
A coach says "she's at six today" and it sounds like a different language. Every defensive spot has a number from 1 to 9 — here is what each number means and what each player actually does on the field.
Aug 24, 2026
One rack can have USA Softball and USSSA stamps, -12 through -9 drops, alloy and composite barrels, and prices from reasonable to $400 or more. Make the decisions in the right order: legality first, then size, then material and price.
Aug 24, 2026
Beginners usually want the vault to look more advanced before they can control it. The run, grip, and plant fundamentals, the four-stage straight-pole progression, when the pole should actually start bending, and the safety checks that come before every vault.
Aug 24, 2026
You don't need to show up to freshman track already knowing your event or your best time. What the first two weeks of practice actually look like, how JV and varsity placement works, what the first meet feels like, and how to balance track with schoolwork.
Aug 24, 2026
A distance runner fuels differently from a sprinter or a thrower, and a growing body has demands training doesn't pause for. How high school track and field athletes should eat each day, fuel around school and practice, plan meet-day nutrition, and recognize the warning signs of underfueling.
Aug 24, 2026
Hurdling is a rhythm event, not sprinting with obstacles in the way. Official high school hurdle heights and spacing, how the 3-step rhythm works, what the lead leg and trail leg each do, and the drills that build real technique in a first season.
Aug 24, 2026
The triple jump is one continuous movement divided into three deliberate phases: the hop, the step, and the jump. What each phase does, how the event differs from the long jump, what phase ratios reveal, and the staged progression beginners should follow.
Aug 24, 2026
Relay races are often decided inside the exchange zone. The rules that make a handoff legal, how the blind 4x100 exchange and the visual 4x400 exchange actually work, and how to fix the timing and target-hand problems that cost teams races.
Aug 24, 2026
The 400m is one lap divided into four deliberate segments, and the race goes to whoever slows down the least. What each segment demands, why the 200m split is the most honest number in the race, and how to build a race plan before stepping on the track.
Aug 24, 2026
Overuse injuries are a persistent problem in high school track and field. How to recognize shin splints, jumper's knee, hamstring strains, and heat illness early — and what to do when the signs appear.
Aug 13, 2026
An 11.1 in the boys' 100m may make one Division I recruiting board and miss another. How to read published track and field recruiting standards against real rosters, and what coaches check before an offer.
Aug 13, 2026
Most new athletes call themselves sprinters. A veteran coach explains how warm-ups, time trials, and the first meets reveal each athlete's real event profile across sprints, hurdles, jumps, throws, and distance.
Aug 13, 2026