In Perpetual Pursuit

Relative Age and its effect on youth sports Caroline McDermott 12/23/2010 *note: all athletes in this article, are referred to as “him” for simplicity’s sake. ISSUE Does the relative age of a child affect his ability to become an elite athlete, and if so, what should youth coaches do to allow athletes that may develop later a chance at elite greatness?  Should youth leagues be allowed to exist with the purpose of developing elite players for their respective sport leagues, or should these leagues be used in the general development of well-rounded youth? BACKGROUND             Ask any teacher, coach, or adolescent psychologist:  There is a huge difference in physical, emotional, and academic maturity (by this I mean the academic skills a child obtains—early and basic literacy and math skills being the most basic) between a child that is aged 8-years, 11-months an...

Technology vs. Hard Work: Why competitive swimming got it right by going back to grassroots swimsuits.  by Caroline McDermott The sport of competitive swimming has long been coveted for instilling pride in the effort and results of hard work. Our sport, with the exception of the East Germans in the 1980's, has not been tainted with the use of performance-enhancing drugs, especially in the United States. Our sport thrives on the concept of those who work the hardest, achieve. The introduction of the technical suit in 2008 (Speedo LZR, amongst others) threatened to change the very essence of our sport. The swimsuits, which were introduced to the swimming world in 2008, have led to over 102 World Records set in 2008, in the Olympics and other internationally recognized meets.(Cazeneuve, 2009)   “At one point in the Olympics, 42 of the 48 swimming medals awarded had been won by athletes wearing Speedo's LZR.” (Five Reasons, 2009) Overall, 158 World Records were ...