Sports
Firebirds Track Club Celebrates 30 Years of Positive Strides
The club helps kids focus their energies into something productive and rewarding.
This year marks the 30th anniversary of the Firebirds Track club, which began and is still located in the Gaithersburg area.
The club is open to any kid that wants to run, get fit and compete. They practice at Watkins Mill High School.
In 1981, Eugene Neal, George Barnes and Melvin Ware formed the Firebirds Track Club after the Upper Montgomery Athletic Club and the County Department of Recreation ended sponsorship of two popular track clubs.
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Corliss Clark, the club's president, said the organization draws kids from all over the Maryland and DC area, but especially from the Gaithersburg, Germantown, Rockville and Silver Spring areas.
The Firebirds club is a 501C3 nonprofit, and has trained hundreds of athletes throughout the years.
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It recently formed an academic committee to make sure student-athletes were not letting their schoolwork lag behind.
Earlier this month, the club held an Alumni Banquet at the Gaithersburg Hilton to recognize past participants.
County Executive Isiah Leggett and Mayor Sidney Katz were on hand to help mark the occasion.
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