| Jurgis Rudkus |
| ||
|
I just watched a documentary on how China will identify gymnasts with potential at say 6 or 7 years old and immediately send them to national training centers where they work their asses off to become age-cheating Olympic gold medalists. Obviously I'm not advocating something of the same scale in the US, but what if top runners who showed potential in middle/high school (probably the earlier the better, though puberty has ruined quite a few girls' careers) were paired up with elite coaches who would work with them for as long as necessary? This would provide continuity in coaching style (no rough adjustments from high school---> college), ensure more productive long term development (not as many hard intervals or trying to peak three times a year or whatnot), and gives top talent top coaches at an early age rather than chancing that their track coach isn't just a football assistant looking for an extra stipend. Look at Rupp's career- he's been with Salazar since high school and has had access to top training tools since 15, has consistently improved, and never had any major injuries. Obviously Rupp is incredibly talented, but think of all the talent that gets passed up because world class coaching isn't available from early on. If America is to become more competitive, we need to work on our pipeline. |
| Seyta |
| ||
There is a slight problem with this. As you said, Rupp is a case example of this, having been trained by an elite-level coach from virtually the moment he began competitive running. However, there is a VERY limited number of elite coaches, most of whom have athletes that they are working with already. |
| Think of the children!!! |
| ||
|
No. Look at Jaouad Gharib - he started running when he was what, like 22? |
| LeadvilleNative |
| ||
|
It has not been established that it is possible to identify world class runners at age 6 or 7-But, even if it were-what is the point of athletics-is it to generate Olympic Gold medals, or is it to provide opportunities for children and adults to have fun. I would argue the latter. It is bad enough to have baseball teams for 10 year olds recruiting all across town-or high school football teams forcing children-errrr young men-to specialize in that sport to the exclusion of all others. We need less structure and competitiveness for 6 year olds-and 16 year olds-not more. |
| Consider This |
| ||
This is a good point. Also, OP, let me know when the Chinese produce a decent male distance runner. |
| luv2run |
| ||
|
Gymnastics has a pretty good system for identifying talented kids at an early age and also a good system for weeding them out pretty fast. Since a female gymnast will hit her prime around age 15 or so you are only projecting a little ways into the future. Also, the skills necessary for gymnasts (and divers---where gymnasts in China and the old USSR went if they got hurt a lot) can be taught early. There is little evidence to support training at age 6 will improve endurance---hard to assess it. Also, the goal of the Chinese sports system is to produce champions. There is no interest in health promotion or the idea of it being fun. I prefer the US system to be honest. |
| trance dance turn in shawowski |
| ||
|
Answer: yes. Question: at what age do you draw the line? After watching some of Kenyan running videos on youtube I can't help but notice what LARGE groups they have. I ran by a local runner who's back from a D1-school the other day and he will more than likely be training alone for the entire summer. Does our culture support a mentality that, in general, hinders the best course of an elite athlete? |