I am new to the group and hoping this post will stir some interest in Claremont in regards to kids and endurance sports, mainly running. I am a cyclist, so I would love to have it revolve around cycling, but seeing as how that is prohibitively expensive (bikes arent cheap), and higher liability (crashing hurts), running is the next best option. Claremont, as far as I know, does not have an option for kids to get into a running team/group until they reach CMS. There is soccer, basketball, football, ect.. but nothing as simple as running?? So, by the time kids get to Middle School it appears that 1 of multiple things happen. The child has invested time in a sport that has been available since Kindergarten and wants to continue, has tried sports and now has no interest or the kid feels as though he/she doesnt want to do sports because they are under the impression that the only thing they can do is a team sport, and some kids are intimidated by the organized team aspect. I am sure there are more variables, but my point is, there is no focus on endurance athletics. Im convinced that, due to these reasons, the CMS Cross Country Team only interested 3 student athletes for the entire school. Are there really only 3 students that arent already playing another sport, or did they just not think they could be doing some sort of running sport? Not sure, but because of this, the Cross Country team was cancelled. This was frustrating for me because my son was one of those 3 and has been waiting to get to CMS so he could run Cross Country. So now I am finding CX (cross country) meets on my own through various running contacts and other CX coaches. I drive my son to them and he is running as a member of another school so he can have the team aspect. I find the lack of endurance sports for younger children in Claremont frustrating because there are many kids that choose not to do team sports because of the competitive nature within the team. They feel I am not good enough, I am going to sit the bench, whats the point, ect... I know the coaches do their best to make sure this type of thing doesnt happen, but there really is only so much they can do. I feel that if these kids were introduced to something like running, then they could have an opportunity to be part of a group/team where they would feel less intimidated by their team mates. It doesnt matter if they are a slow runner, fast runner, ect.. They will always be able to participate (the more runners the better), their performance does not affect their teammates and then they would be part of a team and staying healthy. Im convinced, if there were a Hershey Track team in Claremont, or a pre-CMS kids trail running group that had as much exposure as Soccer/Football/Baseball/Softball, then the CMS CX numbers would be higher. Also, a summer kids running group would benefit the other sports. If you had your kids running all summer, then when football and soccer start in the fall, you are going to have a group of kids that are in great running shape, which is the building block of pretty much everything else they will do athletically. OK, I have more thoughts, ideas, wants, ect... but I was mostly interested to see what everybody else on this forum though? Sorry if I am missing information, or things dont make total sense, I am terrible when it comes to this stuff. As an endurance athlete in the community, I would like to see the young people be more involved. Also, if I am completely wrong and just missing something, please let me know. The more comments, information and whatever else, the better. Thanks, Ken Wiley
Posted on: Tue, 30 Sep 2014 16:14:23 +0000
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