Our Story
You'll get faster. You'll also get tougher, more focused, and more ready for whatever comes next. We serve student-athletes ages 8 through high school.
Athletes who run the 400-meter race are nicknamed "quarter horses" – the fastest horses over a quarter mile.
Every 4QH athlete trains to competitively run a 400 – regardless of their primary event or sport.
The Name
In track and field, athletes who run the 400-meter race carry a nickname: quarter horses – a nod to the quarter horse, the fastest breed of horse over a short distance. Fast, powerful, and built to perform when it counts.
But the name means something more at this club. It's a goal. Every single 4QH athlete – regardless of their primary event, their age, or their background – trains to be able to competitively run a 400-meter race.
The 400 is the great equalizer in track and field. It demands speed, endurance, strength, and mental toughness all at once. If you can run a competitive 400, you can run anything. That's the standard we train to.
The Colors
The club's colors aren't random. Kelly Green and White were chosen as a direct tribute to Coaches Johnny and Marvin Alexander of the Fourth Ward Athletic Track Club – the mentors whose influence shaped Coach Bobby's life and coaching philosophy.
Every time a 4QH athlete steps onto the track in green and white, they're carrying that legacy forward – honoring coaches who believed in young people before young people believed in themselves.
In Honor Of
Coaches Johnny & Marvin Alexander
Fourth Ward Athletic Track Club
Kelly Green
The primary color – speed, growth, and The Legacy.
White
Clean, fast, and classic – the foundation the green runs on.
Charcoal
Grounded and serious – the discipline behind the speed.
Silver
Strength, precision, and the details that matter.
"Speed comes from
controlled relaxation."
– Coach Bobby, Head Coach & Co-Founder
How We Train
Every practice, every meet, every season – these four principles govern how 4QH athletes train, compete, and grow.
Stretching before and after every practice is mandatory – no exceptions. But the deeper goal is self-accountability: athletes who arrive at practice and begin their warm-up sequence independently, without being told. That habit, built on a track, transfers everywhere in life.
Junk food, fast food, and highly processed items are off the table before practices and meet days. Pure hydration is treated as vital fuel – the body's engine runs on what you put in it. Athletes who fuel well perform well. It's not complicated, but it takes discipline.
Coach Bobby's foundational insight: "Speed comes from controlled relaxation." Tension kills pace. 4QH athletes train to stay physically loose and regulate their breathing to maximize oxygen intake – because the fastest athletes are almost always the most relaxed ones on the track.
Track is the most objective sport there is – it's you versus the clock. No referees, no judgment calls, no debate. 4QH athletes learn to lock in on their lane, their race plan, and their own performance. The only opponent that matters is your last time.
Why We Do This
Track and field is the vehicle. It is not the destination.
The 4QH coaching staff views what happens on the track as a developmental tool – a structured environment that teaches children how to set goals, absorb feedback, handle pressure, compete with integrity, and keep going when it's hard.
The lessons from a 400-meter race – pacing yourself, staying relaxed under pressure, knowing when to push and when to hold – don't stay on the track. They show up in classrooms, in job interviews, in relationships, and in every moment that tests what a person is made of.
4 Quarter Horses exists because the coaches believe that every child who walks through this program should leave more equipped, more independent, and more resilient than when they arrived. Medals and championships are evidence of the work – but they are never the point.
The point is great adults.
Ready to Run?
Registration is open. Choose the track that fits your athlete and take the first step.