Swampscott Coach to Talk With Kids About Boston

We asked cross country and track coach Jeffrey Bartlett if he had thoughts to share about the violence in Boston on Monday and whether he had spoken to track team members about it.

Here is what the coach had to say:

"The events in Boston are simply terrible.

There's such a positive, energetic vibe around the city the entire weekend leading up to the marathon, and the kids get excited for it. We were talking a lot about the marathon at practice this morning, and about Shalane Flanagan, and how lucky we are to live outside a city that has such a fascinating event, a beautiful event, take place every year.

People from all over the world make qualifying for Boston their goal, and they get support from crowds through virtually the entire race. Families come to support their loved ones, making the event about more than the runners. The fact that it is now scarred with violence is unfortunate.

The ancient Greeks used to cease hostilities for the Olympics; it's just senseless and mind boggling for someone to attack during the marathon. We will definitely be discussing today's events at practice tomorrow, just like we did after Newtown in December and like my coaches did after 9/11 when I was in high school.

We might not be able to make sense of it, but we can at least talk about it and help the kids through it."