What a great story! It appears to me like a power struggle of who will control this young runner and her running. It looks as if an attempt to compromise on the part of the father was put forth, and the "blame" in this situation may be with the high school program.
Although I realize the importance of team unity and fairness in a high school program, there should always room to negotiate when it comes to individual's needs. I'm sure it's not really fair that some runners are more talented than others, or that some train in the summers while others choose not to. Life in high school sports is not really "fair" in that all do not do the same, even in regards to workouts. For a high school coach to be determined to control all aspects of this runners training and racing options just doesn't seem to be "fair" for the individual in what is also an individual sport. Reach a compromise and let the girl run on the team. She's agreed to five meets on the schedule. I've seen worse with girl basketball players doing two sports during the same season. Bill Brist ALLEN GILMAN wrote: > Wetsch to run without a team > John Millea > Published Aug 20, 2002 > > Bria Wetsch, one of the best distance runners in the state, has already > covered > thousands of miles in her > young, young life. But this fall the ninth-grader is treading on new ground. > She is running unattached. She is > not part of her high school team. > > She is the loneliness of the long-distance runner in a 4-8, 75-pound > package. > > A disagreement about what's best for the 14-year-old came to a head this > summer. Her father, Mark > Wetsch, wanted Bria to skip half the cross-country meets on the Chaska High > School schedule. He is taking a > longterm view of her running career and wants to avoid burning her out. > > Chaska coach Scott Stallman, backed by Athletic Director Mike Werner, > reasoned > that an athlete is either a > member of the team or not, and special treatment for one is not fair. Is it > fair, Stallman argued, when a girl > who has been competing in Bria's absence has to be dropped from the lineup > when > Bria wants to run? > > The Hawks finished ninth at the Class AA state meet last year and, even > without > Bria, have four of their top > five runners returning. They will go on without their young ex-teammate this > fall while she trains for > non-high school competitions. And it appears that Bria also will not be part > of > the Chaska track team next > spring. > > Make no mistake, she is a spectacular talent. As a 12-year-old she won the > women's open division of the > Hennepin Lakes Classic 10K. As a seventh-grader at Minnehaha Academy she > placed > 28th at the Class A > state cross-country meet. Last year at Chaska she finished second at the AA > state meet. She is ranked > among the top five 14-year-old female distance runners in the nation. > > She has a personal coach, Louis LeBlanc, who lives in Portland, Ore. and > corresponds daily via phone and e-mail with Wetsch. LeBlanc travels to the > Twin > Cities to see her regularly. > LeBlanc also works with several other runners around the country. > > "High school coaches don't always take into account an individual as much as > they should," LeBlanc said. "We > don't want her to be a racehorse just to score points for the team. > > "Scott Stallman does a great job and we've had a great relationship. But I > thought she was overracing, > especially for someone her age. That's where the concern started. She has a > lot > of talent and she needs to > develop it. Doing too much too early hinders that long-term development." > > LeBlanc has put together a five-event racing schedule for Wetsch that > consists > of Junior Olympic and other > competitions, beginning with the Great American Cross-Country Festival in > North > Carolina in September. The > plan proposed to Stallman by LeBlanc and Mark Wetsch was for Bria to run in > two > regular-season high school > meets, followed by the Lake Conference, section and state meets. All told, > Chaska will compete in 10 or 11 > cross-country competitions this fall. > > "Cross-country is a wonderful activity for the individual, but these are > quality kids who enjoy being on a > team," said Stallman, who has coached the Chaska girls since the program > began > in 1976. "As long as there > is a team score kept, there is a team aspect to the sport." > > When Stallman was a high school runner at St. Louis Park, he was part of a > state championship relay team > during the spring track season. He said he still treasures the memory. > > "I've seen kids do that over the years, and you don't have that opportunity > every day," Stallman said. "I told > Mark that's what I felt really badly about; the opportunity to be with a > group > of girls and boys, terrific kids, > and to pass up the chance of a lifetime. . . . We will always be there if > they > make a choice to come back." > > Said Mark Wetsch: "I still have a hard time believing that the coaching > staff > is going to leave their best > runner off a team that qualified for the state meet last year." > > Said LeBlanc: "Every high school runner's No. 1 goal should be to get a full > scholarship at a Division I > university. That's her goal, and she's got four years to get there." > > Bria, the oldest of three kids, admitted she would like to be on the team, > "but > it's probably not in my best > interest. I want to run in college and have my best times then and not now." > > She hopes to earn a college scholarship and compete in the Olympics someday. > Someday will come. Today, she's 14. In seven days she will begin her life as > a > high school student. Her life as > a high school athlete might already be over. > > _________________________________________________________________ > Send and receive Hotmail on your mobile device: http://mobile.msn.com
