brainscan wrote:
Watch this, tell us what you think, honestly:
http://www.flotrack.org/coverage/238143-2011-USATF-Cross-Country-Championships/video/449400-Julie-Nacouzi-5th-place-junior-girls-2011-USA-Cross-Country-Championships
I've coached kids like this before. So she's got a touch of Asperger's, or some other condition that makes her appear or act 'differently' than other people. So what?
There's nothing 'wrong' with her. Her brain just works a bit differently than the rest of us, and she expresses herself differently than the rest of us. Again, so what?
Are you guys that threatened by someone with a 'different' personality that the answer is to make fun of her? Why?
Hopefully, once you grow up, you'll realize that she's most likely a wonderful, nice girl, and that this adolescent desire to mock someone, just because she's more animated than you, is silly.
That said, I could see where she and her coach may have had issues - she seems like a bit of a force of nature, probably unused to people demanding her adherence to the rules. She seems like quite the free spirit, who has had rules changed for her along the way.
Again, it's easy to see how an inflexible coach, or one just unfamiliar with how to deal with kids 'outside the norm' of what we think of as 'normal', would have problems coaching her.
But there's nothing I've seen that would justify anyone mocking her or demeaning her. She's just being herself, she's not hurting anyone, and she's obviously excited about running and racing. I'd be happy to have her on my team, and if anyone on our team talked about her the way she's been talked about in this thread, I'd be kicking a bunch of kids off of the team for being immature, insensitive jerks who have a lot to learn about acting the least bit mature.
I shudder to think what this thread would look like if she were a low IQ special ed student...