10/3/2008 12:01:00 AM
Never too young for triathlons
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Jo. L. Keener/
The Daily Courier
While Taylor Gallo (goggles up) swims laps at the Prescott Racquet Club, coach Tom Medevielle (below) goes over the finer points of distance swimming during conditioning drills during the After School Sports Academy. Among the Academy’s lessons is teaching kids as young as 6 to train for triathlons, one of the ultimate tests of athletic endurance. Medevielle – a former trainer to Navy Seals – teaches the breaststroke, butterfly, backstroke and sidestroke, and then the kids practice biking and running. |
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When picturing the prototypical triathlete, one often conjures images of the thin, muscular adult male whose strength and endurance have shaped him into one of the best-conditioned athletes on the planet.
However, it's becoming clearer here in the more progressive days of the 21st century that boys and girls are charting a course to alter that narrow perception.
An example of this youth movement is happening right now at the Prescott Racquet Club at 1 Kingswood Drive, where five 6- to 9-year-old boys in the aptly named After School Sports Academy work out every week, proudly accepting the moniker of "young triathlete."
During training, the boys ride their road bikes along a remote stretch of Williamson Valley Ranch off Williamson Valley Road and ride their mountain bikes on trails near the club.
In each training session, the boys usually travel 6 to 8 miles to prepare for bike races that typically average just 2 to 4 miles.
The boys do their running and speed work on the Abia Judd Elementary School track, and their hill and cross-country exercises in the hills behind the club.
At practice, the boys swim about a mile in the club's outdoor lap pool, although in a triathlon participants usually swim just 150 to 200 yards.
To prepare the boys for competition, Prescott Valley resident Tom Medevielle, 48 - who has past experience training Navy Seals and other elite military units - teaches them the breaststroke, butterfly, backstroke and sidestroke.
"Before swimming," Medevielle said, "the boys stretch their rotator cuffs to prevent shoulder injuries, which are the most common injury in this sport."
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Steve Waples, who owns the racquet club and has coached cross country, track and field, and elite gymnastics for the past 30 years, opened the academy a few weeks ago to tutor children in several sports - including gymnastics, tennis, fencing, swimming and racquetball.
Waples, who has four young children ages 4, 5, 6 and 7, recently created the youth triathlon division in hopes that one day his athletes might reach the Junior Olympic level.
"I'm not necessarily trying to make Olympians out of little kids," he said. "I'm trying to get them to reach their potential in whatever event they're doing and have fun."
In the early stages of learning how to become a triathlon stud, it's clear that each boy has his own strengths.
Although Zachary Waples, Steve's 6-year-old son, is still learning how to swim, he is competing in triathlons because he's such a strong runner.
Chase Thomas, 8, is a solid biker, but he, too, needs work in the other areas.
These youngsters train for and compete in standard Olympic-style triathlons as well as XTERRA, or off-road, triathlons. Their next triathlon is Oct. 19 in Scottsdale.
Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, Waples' boys swim. They also bike and run on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.
Waples' group got its first taste of heavy competition at the second annual Youth Relay Sprint Triathlon and Duathlon July 13 in Chino Valley before heading to Glendale Community College in late September for another event that featured 98 kids.
In Glendale, two of Waples' athletes finished in the top 10 in their age classifications, bolstered by the roar of the crowd at the finish line inside the college's football stadium.
One of them, 9-year-old Prescott resident Jacob Goswick, captured sixth place in the 9 and 10 age group, thanks to his finishes in mountain biking and swimming.
Goswick got his sister, Julia, 7, interested in triathlons, and she expects to participate in the female division.
"It was amazing to finish like that. I personally like the swimming because I'm so good at it," said Goswick, who has swum for the past four years and picked up biking at age 4. "I enjoy all the different strokes and racing other people."
Braeden Waples, 8, a bubbly, energetic second grader at Abia Judd, said the triathlon gives him confidence - particularly in other sports, such as fencing, soccer, basketball and Little League baseball.
"It's exciting because I get to go against other people, and Jacob gives me a lot of competition because he's a really good swimmer," Braeden said. "Every day I try to beat him. When I catch him and work really hard, I make him go harder."
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This summer, Waples averaged 45 children per day at the club's Kids Sports Camp, which provided a less intense atmosphere than the academy and taught youngsters everything from fencing and gymnastics to tennis.
But now Waples is setting his sights higher - giving the younger crowd the opportunity to see what athletic feats its members can achieve.
"The triathlon part (of the After School Sports Academy) was kind of an afterthought," he said. "We were really focused on swimming, fencing and tennis. But my kids were working and trying to do the running and biking as well. So, I thought, 'Why not start a little triathlon program here and see where it goes?'"
In the coming months, Waples plans to expand the membership in the triathlon program by reaching out to tri-city area middle school and high school students.
This week, he added three more children to the group, including a 13-year-old boy.
"Actually, the program's not even limited to any particular age," Waples said. "The high school kids are pretty much involved in their activities, and I don't think they know what they can get here yet."
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Posted: Wednesday, October 08, 2008
Article comment by:
Anonymous
Congratulations on your program. Where are you finding road bikes for your smaller kids under 4 ft? I can only find the Felt which is still too big. Thanks,
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