North Arlington brothers lighting up the youth track circuit

In his heyday growing up in Queens, Derrick Glass was an avid participant in track and field.

He eventually went on to run track at St. John’s University and enjoyed a nice career in the sport. Glass then moved got married and moved with his family to North Arlington seven years ago.

So it was only natural that Glass would pass on his knowledge to his young sons, Giancarlo, age 10, and Galileo, age 6.

Giancarlo Glass was the first one to catch the track and field bug at the tender age of 4 as part of the fine CYO track program at Sacred Heart School in Lyndhurst, under the watchful eyes of dedicated coach John Khin.

“Initially, when he started, he didn’t do much,” Derrick Glass said of Giancarlo. “To John’s credit, he had the kids do a lot of events.”

Giancarlo Glass didn’t show much in terms of talent until he reached kindergarten.

“Once he got to kindergarten,” Derrick Glass said, “that’s when he started to win some races.”

Young Giancarlo didn’t know what to think about his early days in the sport.

“At first, I was a little nervous,” Giancarlo Glass said. “I didn’t like it that much. I started to like it when I got better and better.”

Galileo was just barely six years old when he got his start. And incredibly, the first time he ran competitively, it was at the prestigious Millrose Games at the historic New York Armory in upper Manhattan.

“I never ran before, but I was the fastest kid on my block,” little Galileo said. “I ran with Giancarlo a lot.”

When the pair of brothers ran together in New York, they were spotted by Hassan Wilson from the coaching staff of the famed RDE Track and Field team in Newark.

“He said that your sons need intense training,” Derrick Glass said. “So we had them join the track club there.”

After training with RDE for a bit, Giancarlo Glass competed in the indoor nationals for his age group, finishing seventh in the country in the 55-meter dash in the 9-to-10 age bracket, despite battling the flu that day.

“It was also the first time he wore (running) spikes,” Derrick Glass said of his son’s debut on the grand stage.

“It felt good making the finals,” Giancarlo Glass said. “It made me want to run more. I just turned 8, so I was running against kids older than me.”

It was only the beginning to what has become a respectable showing for both Glass brothers. Because the future only looks bright for the two young men as they continue in the sport their father introduced to them.

“I started to get better as I got older and faster,” Giancarlo Glass said.

And the younger brother followed right along.

“At first, I liked running the 55 (meter dash),” Galileo Glass said. “But now I like to run the 100 (meter dash). I wasn’t that good at running, but once we got to RDE, I learned how.”

Giancarlo Glass competes in a host of events on the state and national scale.

Last year, as a 9-year-old, Giancarlo was the New Jersey state champion in the high jump and the long jump. He was the state champion as a 10-year-old in the javelin and high jump and just recently, he won his third straight state championship in the high jump.

Giancarlo won the national championship last year in the long jump in his age group and competes in the sprints, the high jump and the javelin as well. Giancarlo was named an All-American in the high jump (by placing in the top eight) and was the first athlete from RDE to earn All-America status.

Young Galileo has won his share of accolades as well. He won the New Jersey state championship this year in the 8-and-under age bracket and finished third in the shot put nationally this year.

Needless to say, these brothers have a very bright future ahead of them.

“I want to introduce them to different events,” Derrick Glass said.

“It’s always fun trying new things,” Giancarlo Glass said.

The father is astounded by his boys’ successes. He works in commercial banking in New York and comes back to work with his sons, many times in Riverside County Park in Lyndhurst.

“Galileo had some amazing throws,” Derrick Glass said of his little boy. “Giancarlo just keeps getting better and better. As long as they were interested in it, I was willing to coach them. It’s fun, but winning is just the butter on the bread.”

The boys now also go to specialized training classes at High Intensity Training in Marlboro.

They were getting ready to compete at the AAU National Championships at North Carolina A&T in Greensboro, North Carolina.

They are also training for the upcoming USA Junior Olympics.

“I’m really excited about that,” Giancarlo said. “It’s the second time for me going to the Junior Olympics. I’m really looking forward to it.”

The schedule has been a little tough for the Glass brothers.

“It’s a tough grind,” Derrick Glass said. “We had the districts, then the regionals, then the nationals. At the nationals, there are 13,000 kids from all over the country in all age brackets.”

But the Glass boys will hold their own.

“I’m really excited,” Galileo said. “I’m glad my brother is going with me.”

Giancarlo said that he’s going to compete in five different events.
“I want to get first place in the five events,” Giancarlo Glass said. “I’m going to try.”

Little Galileo has smaller aspirations.
“I want to win both of my events (the javelin and the shot put),” Galileo Glass said. “It would be great if we both won.”
Derrick Glass is pleased that his sons enjoy the sport as much as they do.

“I’m really supportive of it,” Derrick Glass said. “I just want them to have the opportunity to get better. I’m excited for both of them and for their future. They do a lot of things together, so that makes things a little easier. I’m extremely proud of what they’ve accomplished already. I like watching them develop and it’s great to see their improvement.”

 

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Galileo Glass (left) and his older brother Giancarlo (right) of North Arlington have been blazing up the local track and field scene both in New Jersey and nationally. Photo by Jim Hague