<p>^^love the image, beauty and the beast shoes. nbc will want that when she’s on the podium:)</p>
<p>Wow thanks everybody for those responses. Each and everyone of you who posted thank you… This thread really serves to put things in so much better perspective for the years ahead. Good luck to you and your kids and thier incredible journeys ahead. And since my S is only 10 something it promises to be a fun ride ahead both in these forums and out on the feilds.</p>
<p>^ that sounds great. </p>
<p>I would like to add one thing; please let your child decide his path and try to take parental and coach/teammate/friend expectations out of the mix. I have one athlete who pretty much excels at any sport within a few weeks of starting the sport. When he was little soccer was one of his first sports and he was a very-very good player and then stopped cold after 7th grade (while still an elite level player)… which almost caused a heart attack for us as parents, friends, teammates, and most of all the HS coach. This led to an very interesting and educational (for me) conversation … he no longer wanted to play soccer because he wanted to focus on his other two sports which he liked better; and soccer was not as much fun now that everyone else was taking it so seriously. I was a tad slow to party understanding the motivation for my son playing sports was very similar to other kids … he was just more talented. For him soccer was for fun and playing with his friends … football was fun for a couple years … while others were surprised and upset when he quit these sports we supported his following his passions. In his other two sports he plays a ton … watche HS and college games … and works out to improve … he found his path to the sports he loves … our main role was exposing him to tons of options and supporting his choices (including quiting or lowering the temperature of his involvement)</p>
<p>I second everything 3togo said… great story!</p>
<p>Yes, my s was recruited for a sport that I actively discouraged him from doing in 9th grade…Of course I came around when I saw how much he loved it, but I was initially very skeptical…</p>
<p>I just read the post of a very experienced running coach on a runners’ forum I’m on a lot. He cautioned parents of young runners (10 or 11) not to push them too much. Girls in particular can be startlingly speedy at that age, but as they go through puberty they slow down. I was thankful for that info, because I have to admit I was starting to think that DD11 was quite something! She may be, but there’s no way to tell yet. I’ve noticed in Maine girls’ track that a lot of the fastest times are set by freshmen!</p>
<p>We “knew we had an athlete” with my son when his t-ball coach had him autograph 6 official MLB baseballs (he was 5 yrs. old). We thought the coach was nuts but as it turns out he was right. To this day he is an amazing baseball player! He is 13 and in 7th grade and has been offered 2 full rides to two private high schools here to play high school ball. The high school coaches say that they see him as a future D1 prospect. He is a catcher. He plays travel ball, fall travel ball and trains year round by choice - he loves the game, which is a great thing.</p>
<p>fenwaysouth - My son is a catcher and seems alot like your son - he remembers every batter, every pitcher and calls all of his games. I’d love to hear more about your son since you are a few years ahead of us! :)</p>
<p>mainelonghorne, I could talk for hours about girl runner issues, but here’s one emerging theory: MANY runners, male and female, become anemic during their high school years and never run as fast as they did as freshmen. This is much more common among girls, of course, but high school and college coaches are becoming increasingly aware of this risk and are asking their athletes to have their iron and ferratin levels checked. Every athlete on the XC team at my daughter’s college is tested at least once a year. </p>
<p>I suspect younger kids who work out 12 months a year are very much at risk. This is not just a runners’ problem: soccer, lacrosse, etc. also are seeing this phenomenon. “Foot strike anemia” contributes, as well as menstruation, vegetarianism among teens, and just low iron intake during the years when they are growing and need every nutrient.</p>
<p>Something to watch for in young runners…</p>
<p>riverrunner, thanks for the info! Anemia will be a big concern for DD11, because she has a mild bleeding disorder that may make her periods heavier than normal. Sigh.</p>
<p>When did i know we had an athlete on our hands? When I realized I never once had to push him to go to 2.5 hours-a-day, five-day-a-week, 9 months a year practice.</p>
<p>^ … hehe … and I assume were grumpy those few times they did not have the practices!</p>
<p>^3togo, EXACTLY! He drove us all crazy on his days off - he would get so antsy, harassing the rest of us with all his pent up energy. We were thrilled when he was training for Nationals and had two-a-days, six days a week! Bliss all around.</p>
<p>riverrunner - wow, i didn’t realize there were so many health concerns with serious runners. your statement about the best runners being freshman absolutley hit home as I look across my school district to see who is winning these races. very interesting. </p>
<p>ohiomom2 - feel free to pm me if you have specific questions. your son sounds very talented, and you’re giving him the opportunity to improve his basebal skills. </p>
<p>fenwaysouth</p>
<p>We knew when D subbed in for her injured team mate at a district track meet “just to keep the spot open” The event was the 400, and she decided to let it all hang out early in the race instead of saving it for the end. Instead of her normal time of 66 run in the relays,she ran a 59.9 and won district. Won regional with a 58.5,and placed third at state running a 57.82. After never running a solo 400 before,she ran the race only six times to get 3rd in the state as a sophomore. Holy crap!</p>
<p>slumlord, I love when those young runners don’t overthink who else is on the line, and just run like they’re on the playground! Sometimes I wonder if the freshman/soph phenomenon is partly about the mental part that seems to take over: big expectations from themselves, parents, coaches…</p>
<p>The other big theory about female runners who run slower in late high school is that they have trouble adjusting to the post-pubescent body: wider hips, a little more weight, etc. A college coach told me he likes to get a good look at the mom to see what the eventual morphology of the younger runner might be. Now THERE’S something else to worry about on unofficial visits :)</p>
<p>slumlord, welcome to the athlete’s forum, by the way</p>
<p>^ then it’s a wonder D got recruited!!!</p>
<p>Well,yes she got recruited, with two combination D II full rides --athletic/academic ,and finally out of the blue,her high school coach got a call and full ride athletic offer from a D-I school. But this was about March of Senior year and we had been hard at work on college interviews at schools other than athletic because the D I schools that were so interested in our sophomore and junior girl were not writing as much… then they all piled on senior year in the spring when it was time to make a final decision When I talked with the coach from the D I and he said he was tired from losing athletes to poor academic performance and knew our little high school turned out college ready people.
Anyway,it all worked out as D did get a quality academic scholarship at a private school and since we had positioned our assets correctly,the needs based stuff made the unfunded part affordable. She did run track for them,but never got below 58 again due to little injuries.
The most important thing we did was not to push her into taking that full ride. DI athletes have killer travel schedules, but D III not so much. She used the extra time for student employment and that experience led to a project with the dean of students and that is what resulted in a career pick and a full ride to grad school.</p>
<p>I love these stories about the freshman athletes excelling. In my first ever track meet as a high school freshman, I set a school record in high jump. I never again came close to beating it, and neither did anyone else for 25 years when, finally, it was beaten by, you guessed it, a freshman! At that same meet, I came in second-to-last in the 400 meter (actually back then it was 440 yards) with something like a 72, but somehow, the time got entered as 62 and the newspaper printed it as a new district record. I wonder what all the runners who beat me in that race were thinking. Fortunately, my “record” was broken by someone shortly after that, saving me from further humiliation.</p>
<p>Well, I knew I had an athlete when I was pregnant! My family was quite entertained by my daughter’s in womb antics. And this was confirmed when she was booted out of Gymboree at 15 months old because she was running circles around the other kids, literally. And then again at her 2 year check-up when her Dr. suggested we choose a sport for her! She has been swimming year round since she was 3 years old.</p>
<p>Aha! It’s in the blood!</p>