> Boston and New England is filled with clubs that provide coaching and
support
> for young athletes. There are indoor and outdoor facilities available in
> Syracuse, Rochester, Buffalo as well as many other cities here in the
East.
> Coaching is always available. Most of the clubs I know do provide for
travel
> to many track meets and races. The local USATF association has provided
some
> funds for young developing athletes beyond what the club provides.
> While these types of clubs may not be evenly distributed throughout the
> country that is not a fair criticism. This is a huge country, you will
never
> entirely blanket it with strong clubs. So what, move.
If any local USATf association is providing meaningful amounts to clubs, I
would be shocked to hear about it. And the contention that New England is
"filled with clubs that provide coaching and support" is obviously a matter
of perspective. Yes, there are a few dozen youth clubs that serve a
population of numerous millions. Most of these have no support in terms of
funding and simply provide coaching to anywhere from a dozen to a few
hundred athletes. How does that compare to soccer or baseball or football,
or even swimming, where there are programs everywhere (at least in New
England).
And with due respect to the Syracuse Chargers, who are clearly one of the
best clubs in the nation, there are very few clubs in New England and New
York that provide significant financial support. It would be stupid for
many people to move just for some coaching, a few pairs of shoes and two
plane tickets per year.
>With all this said I can speak from experience that if you really want to
make it as an athlete, the fact that you don't have >money thrown at you is
no excuse. You can spend 4-6 years in college and get a chance to compete at
an
>extremely high level with great facilities and competitive opportunities.
If you show a hint of potential live at home for a >couple of years or move
to an area where a bunch of people share a house. (this exists now as it
always has). That should >get you to 26-27 years old, if you have not made
your mark by then you probably never will. If you do get to the elite level
>worthy of world class distinction then there is support.
Continuing to suggest that Americans suck it up and sacrifice or stop
complaining is a narrow-minded, useless idea that has unfortunately gotten
too much play among well-meaning people who should know better. Those of us
interested in finding real solutions instead of riding testosterone waves
can certainly find better people to listen to.
If you believe everything is fine - great, keep doing want you've been doing
and that's one less person for us to worry about.
- ed Parrot
