1. PBA has worked with over 150 youth ranging in age, 4-years old – collegiate, throughout Oklahoma. The PBA Team is made up of student-athletes from the following cities: Tulsa, Claremore, Berryhill, Broken Arrow, Bixby, Skiatook, Cleveland, Beggs, Kelleyville, Bartlesville, Mustang, Guthrie, Edmond, Dell City, Tuttle, Lawton, Ardmore, Oklahoma City, and Joplin, MO.
2. The environment of PBA is a wide spectrum of ages, abilities, and backgrounds that seek to learn and grow through their experiences in sports as they achieve a high level of skill, an appreciation for the values of discipline and sportsmanship, and overall develop a stronger self-esteem. Personal Best hopes to instill an expanded support system of family and quality friends, a resilience that overcomes adversity, and a deep desire to pursue personal goals with a healthy overall perspective on life. Personal Best strives to empower youth through the experience of physical training.
3. PBA has four main seasons: Summer Track & Field Club, Fall Running Club, Winter Indoor Track Club, and Spring Track Club. PBA has established it self as a running mechanics specialist with amazing ability to develop a young persons understanding of running mechanics so they can run smoother, faster, stronger, and injury preventative. PBA also serves as a Personal Trainer for a variety of youth athletes in developing speed, power & strength, agility, flexibility, injury recovery & injury prevention, nutritional guidance, and general life-time fitness training for a variety of sports including: Cross Country, Track & Field, Triathlon, Soccer, Softball, Volleyball, Baseball, Basketball, and Football.
4. PBA worked a summer camp at Camp Shalom. PBA athletes worked as counselors throughout the week teaching younger kids what they have learned from the club. As counselors they served in directing the kids through fitness games, drills, sports activities, and encouraging them throughout the week.
5. PBA helped host, for the third year, the Tulsa Runner Summer Track Series held at Tulsa University on Thursday Nights throughout the summer. This has been a great experience - a shortened track meet free to runners of any age. Many PBA runners compete in these meets, which some nights held 80-100 participants.
6. The 2009 Summer, PBA participated in five USATF Summer Meets including: Oklahoma Age Group Championships, Green Country Invitational, East-Side Steppers Invitational, Oklahoma Sooner State Games, and USATF State Championships held in Douglas, OK.
7. The 2009 Summer, PBA qualified 14 athletes for USATF Regional Championships in Wichita, KS, where they had 11 Personal Record Performances and qualified 8 athletes for USATF Junior Olympics. The trip to Junior Olympics included college visits at Tennessee University, Wake Forest University, and the competition was held at UNC A&T in Greensboro, NC. At JO’s PBA had 3 finish in the top 10, two of the athletes made All-American finishing 4th and 5th respectfully.
8. PBA had an awesome Pool Party to wrap up the 2009 Summer Track & Field Season.
9. PBA hosted a New Year’s Eve Party, thanks to St. Giles Church, providing a great atmosphere where the team could celebrate the new year together. Some literally ran into the New Year at the New Year’s Eve run on Riverside.
10. PBA has held “PBA Perception Nights”, for high school athletes where we discuss sports in our lives and acknowledge the spiritual side to a healthy life. Most of PBA’s teachings on life lessons are powerful because of the individual relationships developed between the athletes and coaches. Most of PBA’s teachings on life lessons are powerful because they are done on a one-on-one relationship level, between the athletes and coaches and sometimes between athletes and athletes, unique to each individual. It’s PBA’s mission that youth athletes will learn and grow through their experiences in sports as they achieve a higher level of skill, and appreciation for the values of discipline and sportsmanship. PBA provides a supportive environment that develops self-confidence and enjoyment through training towards individual goals. stronger self-esteem, an expanded support system of family and quality friends, a resilience that overcomes adversity, and a deep desire to pursue their personal goals with a healthy overall perspective on life that we strive to deliver in their experiences at PBA.
11. The 2009-2010 winter, PBA participated in a full Indoor Track Season at collegiate facilities providing opportunities for Junior High and High School athletes to compete throughout the winter months and visit potential colleges. The Season included Arkansas University, Kansas State University (were Roxy Eddington set a new meet record in the 800m), Missouri Southern State University, and Pittsburgh State University.
12. August 2008 to August 2010, PBA has had the privilege of helping Dwayne Golbek, the first Oklahoma youth-athlete to compete in the International Youth World Championships. Dwayne is the first PBA athlete to set a state meet record (High Jump - 7’0”); the first PBA athlete to win a National Championship (NIN Indoor Nationals in Boston, MA); and the first to have a day named after him (The city of Claremore, OK has officially dedicated April 6 as “Dwayne Golbek Day”). Congrats to Dwayne Golbek for all his development and success over the last two years. Dwayne was a volunteer counselor at PBA’s Camp, a guest speaker at Metro Christian, and shared his experiences at a Claremore City Council Meeting and with the Claremore Rotary Club. It’s been an honor, and very rewarding for everyone involved in Dwayne’s experiences over the last two years!
13. Several PBA high School graduates are continuing their sports career in college...
Chaunsey Dumas (Sprints) - Oklahoma University
Miles Fikes (Sprints) - Oklahoma City College
Dwayne Golbek (High Jump) - Arkansas University
Walter Henderson (Sprints) - Arkansas University
Jake Huddleston (Pole Vault) - Oklahoma University
Douglas Parker (400m) - Oral Roberts University
Lacey Rhodes (High Jump, Long Jump) - University of Central Oklahoma
Nick Russo (Pole Vault) - Pittsburgh State University
Catherine Parish (Soccer) - South Western University - Oklahoma State University
Michelle Stevens (Cross Country, Distance) - Missouri Southern State University
Marrisa Thomas (Cross Country, Mid-Distance) - Oral Roberts University