talent identification: how young is too young?

You should temper your expectations. Not because I am suggesting he will start to suck in the future, but because if you have high hopes for him now, he will burn out and quit.Let him run track and congratulate him for working hard, whether he wins or loses. Let him play soccer too, and again, encourage effort and having fun over winning. Take him hiking, fishing, biking, whatever. Don't let him do extra practices in any sport, unless it is just "playing" at that sport.When he is in middle school he can get a little more serious about sports he likes, spending a bit more time practicing whatever are his chosen sports.When he is in high school, let him specialize in running if he chooses it.As far as predicting whether he will continue to dominate or be passed up: Don't forget that some six year olds still wear diapers at night...

bigedlsu wrote:

So my son decided to give track a try this year. He did pretty well for a first time competitor.

The thing is, he's 6. I've read plenty of articles that say some kids have a faster biological clock than others, as in they are growing faster and will hit puberty and mature faster.

These kids tend to start fast and have others catch up over the years. My son isn't all that tall though. He has always been athletic and muscular, but still is about average size for his age.

When I say he did well this year, he did exceptionally well. Should I temper future expectations, or should I treat track as a potential future for him?

Thanks for the input.

No age is too young to know that you have talent. Talent alone is not enough, however. You also have to love it.

There is a kid in our neighborhood who is in the top 10 in the USA at the mile. He started running 3 years ago. He was top 10 without really training his first year and he has been top 10 each year as he and his peers train more.

We all think his biggest strength is his ability to be a normal member of the city league track team even though he can lap all but 2 of the kids his age in the mile on a 400m track.

Maturing faster does not mean you don't have talent, just that you may not be the next Mary Cain.

He finished top 15 nationally in all sprints, long jump, and won a field event.

I'm probably more excited than him about it. I don't know if he grasps the national concept.

I assume that the best of the best haven't been identified by this age yet though

Is there a general age that most of the true nations elite are competing by?

I'm worried that I'm over thinking things lol.

before puberty is too young. You don't know how things will change during this time.

bigedlsu wrote:

He finished top 15 nationally in all sprints, long jump, and won a field event.

I'm probably more excited than him about it. I don't know if he grasps the national concept.

I assume that the best of the best haven't been identified by this age yet though

Is there a general age that most of the true nations elite are competing by?

I'm worried that I'm over thinking things lol.

Remember that most young kids don't compete very seriously in sports, so making it to a "national" championship doesn't really say anything. Don't even think about his future potential until he's competing in high school (if he even wants to).

You are over thinking things.

There is no such thing as identifying the best of the best, EVER.

Each year there are about 100 guys who have enough talent and are interested enough and could be the best. At any given US championship, something like a 10 year age cohort could win. That means about 1000 athletes have a chance.

When your son gets to be old enough, he WILL BE among the cohort of 1000 that has enough talent to win. That means almost NOTHING in terms of how far he will get.

No one knows if he will be interested.

No one knows if he will be able to love it enough to work hard enough.

No one knows if he will be durable enough to stand up to the training necessary.

No one knows if he will have even MORE talent at something else.

No one knows if he will get distracted by some other part of his life.

Nah, start applying the pressure now. But to be safe, you may want to purchase an advance on all the counseling and therapy your kid is going to need later in life.

Kona, Bro. Kona wrote:

before puberty is too young. You don't know how things will change during this time.

+1 Be happy but let things take their normal flow. Remember, no one is "training" at age 6. Your son has athletic talent. Where it will lead at this point is way too early to tell. He should get as much exposure to a variety of sports as he has the desire to participate in.

bigedlsu wrote:

He finished top 15 nationally in all sprints, long jump, and won a field event.

I'm probably more excited than him about it. I don't know if he grasps the national concept.

I assume that the best of the best haven't been identified by this age yet though

Is there a general age that most of the true nations elite are competing by?

I'm worried that I'm over thinking things lol.

I am not trying to be a dick, but why are you taking your 6-year-old to a national competition?

Running is a weird animal. Most of the kids who are identified young never really last in the sport.

death and taxes wrote:

I am not trying to be a dick, but why are you taking your 6-year-old to a national competition?

You really fell for this?

3/10, OP, only because some people fell for it.

They hold nationals for little kids (8u) at Disney. Hard to pass up the vacation to be honest.

And to be honest, I wanted to see what else was out there. We are in Louisiana and had won everything we competed in locally.

We got to see some kids who are huge for that age.

For him, it kind of served as motivation. He finally saw there are kids faster than him.

His older bro is in high school and he has grown up watching him compete, and wanted to try it out himself this year.

Everyone locally pumps our head up about him. I'm just trying to get other unbiased opinions. Sounds like I need to ensure its fun first so he doesn't burn out later.

Bigedlsu wrote:

They hold nationals for little kids (8u) at Disney. Hard to pass up the vacation to be honest.

Hard to pass up a trip to Orlando? WTF is wrong with you? That place is a hellhole.

You do realize that the reason you are winning races is because only crazy people have their kids running track at age 6. Your kid should be building forts and playing with water guns.

To each their own. I saw dozens of teams from all over the country that have a lot of 4 and 5 year olds running.

Are you unaware that aau and usatf allow kids that young to compete?