How Young is Too Young?

Quick!  What did you do for fun when you were around ages 10-12?

For me, it was probably playing whiffleball on a back street and having sleepouts with the neighborhood kids.

Gym class?  

Did we even have gym class? 

Ah, yes, I remember the "red," "yellow" and "green" signs in the cafeteria that would let us know whether or not we could go out for recess and gym, if we had it, on that particular day. 

And, I also remember wearing gym uniforms when I got to middle school.  Nothing sleek or sexy about them, I can tell you.

That, and never having my sneakers.  Thank heavens for Monica B., who wore the same shoe size, had a locker close to mine and was willing to give me her combination so I could get the shoes out and make it to gym class on time. 

(True Confession:  I still have dreams about being late to gym class or--worse--showing up dressed half in street clothes and half in gym clothes.   We'll go into dream interpretation in another blog.)

My point?

When I was 10 or 12, organized sports weren't a huge deal.  Oh, yes, we had softball (for which I have more very bad memories of wearing a new purple polka dot bra under a white game shirt, but let's not go there...) but it was more or less for something to do--nothing to get serious about.  

Today's kids have more opportunities to get involved in sports at a young age.  Truly, if a child doesn't specialize early, they can often be left out even when they get to middle school. For my generation, middle school was pretty much where it all started and athletes didn't start to get serious about their sport until high school.

On one hand, that's great.  I wish I had been more of an athletic type when I was younger. (Maybe having my own sneakers to wear instead of Monica B's would have been a good start....)

But, on the other hand, are kids getting into sports--even "extreme" sports at too young of an age?

Take the Welch sisters....

 Erik Szylard Daenitz for The New York Times

Now, at ages 11 and 13, they have finished hundreds of races--sometimes back to back on weekends.  They have run all distances, but are particularly pulled to endurance races like challenging trail runs, triathlons and even full marathons. Kaytlinn, the older sister, finished the Houston Marathon with a time of 3:45:15, but was later disqualified because she didn't meet the entrance age requirements. Here's a video to learn more about them: 

In fact, most marathons have age requirements that start usually around age 14, but can go as high as 18 years old.  

http://a134.idata.over-blog.com/376x286/1/28/66/72/gamins/budhia_singh_1.jpg

But, they are not the youngest marathoners out there.  Believe it or not, there was a young boy named Budhia Singh, who ran 28 marathons by the time he was four years old.  His prowess was spotted by a man who had purchased him from his parents in India; to punish him, the man told him to run.  When the man returned five hours later, young Singh was still running. 

But, Singh, now 10 years old is not running any longer, although he does his schooling at a sports hostel.  His benefactor was murdered and, unrelated to that, human rights activists called for an end to the "abuse" he was suffering. The officials at the school say he may run again, especially because he does show promise in endurance, but they want him to train and develop more--especially since he can't compete in international distance events for four more year. 

http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3370/3505276006_2553718bac_z.jpg

Then, there's the 14 year old--Winter Vinecki--who, in April, became the youngest person to run a marathon in Antarctica, one of the toughest courses that exists, particularly due to the temps of -25 degrees.  She is also on track to become the youngest person to run a marathon on each continent.  That record is currently held by a 22 year old.  

As you can imagine, these young prodigies can't run from the controversy surrounding them.  Some doctors are concerned that this kind of activity can damage growth plates and delay puberty in girls.  They believe there isn't enough evidence that shows whether or not there is long-term damage.  

Others insist that--as long as the runners get good medical care, they should have no more issues than someone older who is running. 

So, I ask....how young is too young?  Should these younger athletes be encouraged or discouraged from a sport they reportedly love?  Leave a comment and let me know what you think. 

Catch you later at the Back of the Pack!