11 year old Kid of Steel goes for a perfect season!

What happened to letting kids be kids?!?!

I am all for kids being involved in competitive sports (soccer, gymnastic, triathlons, karate, etc, etc, etc).  But 3 hours of day of training at 11 is too much in my uneducated opinion!

Michael

This is sad.  No kid should be working out for 3 hours per day.  That's a big load for an adult body.  I can't imagine why a kid would be passionate about something like triathlon when there are so many kid things to do.  His parents are certainly pressuring him, either directly or indirectly.

Based on his comments he "sounds" happy, but so does the girl at my daughter's gymnastics center who is there 6 days/week for 6 hours/day.  She's there because that's what her parents want, not what she wants.  Not good.

Edited by DaveyG 2009-08-06 5:52 PM

When I was in PT the past few months, I was amazed at how many high-school, and a couple even younger, kids, were in there.  I played sports all through high school, and didn't recall friends, teammates, etc., having to go to PT, having surgery.  I mentioned it to my surgeon and he talked about how, in his mind, it is an "epidemic," kids doing way too much too soon, too intense, year-round sports, etc.  Some of the kids in PT talked about how they were on 3 teams simultaneously.  It's sad.

I am a Mom of 5 and former personal trainer.  It is my opinion that boredom is highly underrated.
Three hours is simply too long for a young still growing body.

I played all sorts of sports as a kid and was never pressured. My fiancee was a phenominal softball player and played basically year round, including basketball. Yeah we may have a few aches and pains from it but we loved it the entire time. I think it's better to have an "Epidemic" of overly active kids than sedentary, overweight coach potatoes.

I think there is a HUGE happy medium that is very easy to find.

Agreed.  I have a 14 year old brother who plays baseball on two or three different teams in the summer.  He usually only has practice an hour and a half each day.  Some days there are two, but one will be in the morning and one in the evening.  Game days can be longer, especially if there is a double-header, but the coaches are very careful to give the boys time to rest between each game and that they are eating well, etc.

Three hours at a time is WAY too much for a kid that young.  I'd be worried about long-term implications of doing that.

Different strokes for different folks.  It's impossible to say whether this kid is being pressured, whether he simply loves it or some combination.  A few things come to mind: 1) the 'strongest kid in the world' that was profiled all over the place (this kid), apparently his father was/is injecting him with some sort of steroid/PED...there's just no way that ends well.

On the other hand you have someone like Tiger Woods, or Jaromir Jagr (hockey player).  Sure, Woods father was obsessive, but Tiger also loved the game, still loves the game and is the best ever because of it.  Jagr's father used to have him do 1,000 bodyweight squats...every single day.  He turned into a phenomenal hockey player with tree trunks for legs and has earned millions in an All Star (possibly Hall of Fame) career. 

I agree, 3 hours a day is obsessive.  But some kids, regardless of the pressure from a parent, thrive in those situations and love the competition.

Funny thing... try Googling "kids obesity."  Here is the first result:

Childhood Obesity and Overweight Kids

Obesity in kids has reached epidemic levels. Experts estimate that 15% of kids are overweight and another 15% are at risk of becoming overweight.

I guess the happy medium is few and far between...

Edited by newleaf 2009-08-06 8:33 PM

Hit the nail on the head.  I know 4 kids all 5th graders, that play baseball all year.  Its fall ball, then spring ball and two 8 month travel teams. 

I would have been bored out of my mind.  I liked the variety, swimming, basketball, baseball and soccer for me.

When I was 11, I was on the swim team.  In the summer, we had 2 hr practice every morning.

I rode my bike 1/2 hour each way to practice.   I enjoyed it.

You know...... if I had just spent a little time running THEN...........   I woulda been a damn triathlete 20 years ago!

3 hours a day (but not 7 days a week) doesn't sound excessive to me.   If my kids want to do it, I'll let them.... IF they get their school work done, don't act like a little sh*t, and participate in family time.   In fact, those are the same rules that apply to me in my training! :^)

A lot of kids just go to the park and play for hours at a time. While that time may not be as directed it is very active. I say give the kids the ability to pursue any sport to the degree at which they want to pursue it. It can only help them and if they choose to dedicate their time to training for one sport, so be it.

I agree 100%.  As long as the kid wants it, he should be able to pursue it. 

I can't make it through 1 game of baseball without being bored though.  I can't see that sport taking much of a toll on a body like some others which require a lot more conditioning.

yeah...the red flag for me is when he said "I do it cause the sport keeps me in good physical condition" what eleven year old is worried about their physic and staying in good shape. Sounds like an adult told him to say that, its what most adults would say. but whatever the kid may have been exaggerating the time he spends working out anyways...but if he loves it whatever.

As a parent of three determined little girls I think it is fine what he is doing. Look at the distances, those are small for an 11 year old. My daughters are in gymnastics and train 2 hours a day...they are 5 and 6 years old. I have NEVER pushed them, they LOVE going and they are stronger than I am respectively.  I think a lot of young boys with tons of energy could do the level of triathlons he is doing. Maybe not as fast..did not look at his times...but we are talking about boys full of energy!  I don't know what one of my daugthers would do without gymnastics to focus her energy!  Even after she gets out of an exhausting practice...she is home flipping when we walk in the door...some kids just enjoy it...let him do for it!!!  It he is happy and they family feels functional and happy-I am not one to judge!  My 5 and 6 year old have to run for 20 minutes  and do 30 flights of stairs as a warm-up...it does not phase them...it is not mean-especially to children who are having fun and enjoy it. Children are full of energy-I think he is focusing his energy on something productive-good for him! 

I don't think thats all that unreasonable. My brother has been obsessed with how his physique looked since he was old enough to realize he had one. He still is to this day. It has led him into Kinesiology in school and it is what he loves. My parents certainly never pushed him into it and in fact tried to stop him from obsessing over it.

I was also a swimmer and I used to swim 3-4 hours a day in addition to running, dry land, and going to the gym several days a week. I wouldn't have traded it for anything and when I got tired of it I quit. My parents always told us to do whatever we wanted and they would support us. They never tried to push either one of us.

I used to be in the the-parents-must-be-pushing camp. Until I met A. She started hiking when she was 5. She did her first 4K peak within a month (really tough peaks, there are 48 of them in NH and it generally takes adults around 5-6 years to finish all 48. Somewhat comparable to Colorado 14ers). T, her mom, showed up on the hiking boards. We all assumed T was pushing A, and hard.

I've now hiked with both T & A numerous times. I've also hung out with them quite a bit. Let me assure you, A is the one dragging her mom up the mountains. She declared her goal, on her sixth birthday, to finish all 48 by the time she was seven. She will (almost certainly) finish at the end of August, five full months ahead of schedule. This kid will hike some of the hardest hiking mountains in the country in a year and half with no previous experience of her own nor did her mom have any. Yes, I still think there is *some* element of look-at-the-attention-I-get, but I promise you, that only lasts so long when doing 12+ mile days with 3000'+ elevation gain/loss which is kicking all the adults' rears, and she's still happily skipping along.

Some kids, they just have the push. Just like, uh, I dunno, some adults?

hmmm interesting about your brother, I still find it unusual for a child, but i'm just baseing it off my own experience, but good for him....I'm a Kinesiology minor and have always been involved in sports/atheltics since I was five...but never once worried about my physic and body until probably high school (when my fat appeared haha)...I was too worried about the next kick ball game or who I would beat in tether ball. All I can say is I also used to have two hours of soccer practice a day when I was in club...I absolutely hated it and my parents thought I loved it, it caused me to hate a sport I used to love, I was completely burned out...this was probably age 13...I remember having a huge falling out with my parents when I told them I wanted to quit because I was soo afraid I would let them down. Just something to consider...hope it doesn't happend to him, but than again Triathlon is whole different disapline than other sports.

In reading the article I get the feeling he is doing exactly what he wants to do.  Seems more healthy than what most kids do at that age. 

You know, hiking with T&A would really get me out in the woods more often.

Good for T.   Sounds like she's "rolling with the punches" ... supporting her kids dreams/desires, learning enough to keep her safe ... and getting ALOT of really quality Mom/Kid   and Mom/Nature time.

And A sounds like she's having a blast!  what a lucky kid!

Edited by moondawg14 2009-08-07 7:40 AM

My son (now 16) loves football , i know it is different training that triathlons and gymnastics and such but he does love it to the point that i beleive he would play it 3 hrs a day if he was able to. In August he does 2 a days where 3 hrs in morning 3 hrs in late afternoon and he has been playing since he was 5. I do not think he would give it up since this is all he talks about (lucky me).
He gets up every morning to work out at the school by 8 am. I guess he just loves the sport to the point that is all he wants to do, hopefully it will save me some money for college...
So, yes i can see an 11 yr old being passionate about his training, rather they were playing with friends and running around but i do not think it is a bad thing.

I never said childhood obesity isn't at epidemic proportions, it is.

What I DID say is there is a happy medium to be found and it is easy to find but the parents have to look for it rather than sitting their kids in front of a TV for hours on end.

There IS a place between training 3 hours a day and spending 6+ hours a day in front of the TV.