The hour of the siesta by Felipe Gutiérrez "CHILDREN, SCHOOLS, TRIATHLON ..."

This week Felipe tells us about the growth of children's triathlon schools

 

 

A few days ago I attended a club meeting where questions were raised about the school triathlon, the children's triathlon and I realized the enormous interest in some clubs and some people in this age group and the practice of triathlon. The truth is that it made me think ...

I have to confess that it is not my case because for me until they are cadets and I do not think about these "futures", maybe triathletes?

28 years ago when I started training triathletes I also thought and created a school as a "quarry" of the first team and started working with them, although little by little I realized that these children soon left it because most preferred sports more playful where the freest game, such as indoor soccer, basketball or similar, predominated.

After that experience I decided to only train when they are 14 years old, they are already cadets and they already have a little more "interest, head and desire", and now you can start a job for this sport that is becoming an activity for "seniors" trained athletically and in some cases not even that.

I understand that some clubs having a school have other rewards and maybe justify with the Sports Board of their town, with the City Council, or simply with school sports and all this is good even if I find it not entirely interesting.

Sometimes a parent asks me if their son could train triathlon and I ask them the age of the kid. There is everything, 7, 8, 9 years ... and I tell them that for now they should keep swimming and that they will have time to do triathlon, "live" in a swimming club.

That's why at the meeting I was referring to, I was surprised by the great interest of the clubs to do tests for minors and not only for cadets, children, fry, because even the same pretensions were for Benjamins and even for Pre-Benjamins.

I do not criticize it, I only expose the surprise, my admiration, or my ... I do not really know what to call it, what I do know is that in this hour of the siesta in a certain way this takes away my sleep a lot.

Surely some will say now, "but if we want they will have to leave that group of schoolchildren the future triathletes, maybe the future Olympians".

Uff I'm not sure they'll get out of there, but it's okay to try.

My doubts begin if I think, for example, of the first 10 boys and girls of the Spanish Cadet Triathlon Championship, for example 10 years ago. Are they the ones who are about to go to an Olympic Games? I'm afraid not, and perhaps many of you don't even know.

And now, where did the possible Olympians start on the way to Rio? They did not start precisely in a triathlon school.

This does not mean that they are not necessary, it does not mean that there have to be tests of schoolchildren, but I would not like some people to "play" to train these boys and girls with a view to making them champions. And I do not say anything about the parents, they have to see this as an activity and not how to make their champion son. Sometimes, in some small tests I see a lot "champion father" and that also worries me. And as I said a poster in a sports wardrobe that caught my attention: "Dad if you want a champion, train yourself." So, let the little ones enjoy doing an activity and not train as if they were going to be champions of something tomorrow.

 

 

The same thing I think of the coaches, and those more or less technical people of the clubs, of the groups that by their desire, their "motivations" can bore a little one who simply does some sport.

Anyway I admire these people who spend hours to be, carry, teach things to their "pupils"

What is clear is that you have to be careful, it is "fragile material" and you have to take care of it.

I hope no one will be alluded to, it's just my opinion.

Felipe Gutiérrez

Photo: Triatloberga.cat