I used to coach at the old Olympic velodrome at Dominguez Hills. I honestly don't remember any first-time track riders who knew anything about toe clips and straps. And really, why should they? It's been a decade since I saw any road/crit racers -- local or otherwise -- use straps.
At any rate, instructing beginning track racers about the proper set-up and use of straps and clips was part and parcel of the introductory program at Dominguez Hills. I also made a point to instruct new riders about what to buy, eventually going as far as to make up a handout listing the few good straps and the piles of bad ones. So many riders would show up with various assorted junk their LBS sold them: nylon, plastic, thin unlaminated leather, thick, spongy "rough-out" leather, laminated leather that delaminates if you look at it wrong, and on and on. One very good reason for new riders to avoid clips and straps is that there is so much pure junk on the market right now -- and some of it is very expensive junk. If you don't have someone to guide you, you're almost certainly going to end up wasting money.