Asylum Made Track Team Trains Apollo Beach Athletes

Antjuan Randall found joy in training his young kids in the sport that he grew up participating in. That joy later turned into a successful club team named the Asylum Made Track Team.

Randall, who founded the program back in 2018, was inspired by his love of a fictional character, the Joker, naming the team after the infamous Arkham Asylum in the Batman comic books. The name represents the ‘crazy’ mindset his team has in training and competing for their goals.

The AAU team trains at the Apollo Beach Park and Recreation Center. Athletes range in age from 5-18. Randall said that for the first year that the team competed, he had about 10 students; last year, he had 15; and this year, they made the jump to 35. According to Randall, the team is mostly made up of athletes from the Apollo Beach area, but they have a few from Bradenton.

Asylum Made had a successful season. Of the 35 total athletes, 19 of them qualified and opted to go to regionals. Five of those kids qualified for the Junior Olympics in July.

Roman Torres, an athlete on the team, said he joined because he wanted to try a new sport.

“I enjoy running and doing the long jump, and I want to be a better runner in the future,” said Torres.

Randall’s son, Antjuan ‘A.T.’ Randall Jr. (12), and daughter, Aziah Randall (7), are on the team. They both qualified for nationals in July. Randall, who ran track and played football in high school, went on to play college football at Chowan University in North Carolina but didn’t have the opportunity to run track in college because it wasn’t offered. He wants his athletes to have the opportunity to move onto the next level.

“I want all the kids to keep excelling, and for the new kids to come into the program and continue to grow and keep competing, and eventually for them to compete in track in high school and college,” said Randall.

The Asylum Made Track Team is looking for sponsors to help raise funds for their efforts. If you would like to become a sponsor, contact Shante Torres at shante@cbtayconsulting.com.