Swampscott Middle School co-ed track and field coaches Lexi Van Arsdale and Heather Averett have had their hands full this season, managing a roster of about 100 players between fifth and eighth grade, but both players and coaches said they will look back on the season and remember the fun they had.

“It’s been wonderful,” said Van Arsdale. “The kids have really risen to the occasion and performed wonderfully.”

Older players in the program have spent the majority of the season ironing out their skill-sets and focusing on finding events they truly enjoy. For younger players, the season has been about learning different events and picking up some basic skills.

“We try to work with our fifth graders on the beginning elements of running,” said Van Arsdale. “With our seventh and eighth graders, they are starting to really pick the events they want to work with.”

With such a large group of student athletes, Van Arsdale said it can be difficult at times to make sure everyone is getting the right amount of instruction.

“We’ve been figuring out which kids are more self-directed and who needs more direction and help moving toward things that we think would be a good choice for them,” said Van Arsdale.

The coaching staff has encouraged the team to try new events they may want to partake in.

“We work really hard to make sure everybody is involved in as many of the events as they want,” said Van Arsdale. “We just hope they have a really good time.”

The team participated in its last regular season meet of the year on Thursday at Marblehead High School. Next week, the Big Blue will move on to a conference meet, and almost 20 athletes have qualified for the state championship competition.

“With 100 kids, it’s fun and it’s exhilarating,” said Van Arsdale. “It’s a fast, fast season. I wish we could stretch it out a little bit. The kids work really hard. We asked yesterday at practice if they had a good season and if they would come back. Everyone said yes. That’s all we hope for every year.”