AAU Junior Olympic Games …. Why Would You Take Your Youth Athlete There?

In 2007 Lauren Rain was the #1 ranked Sub-bantam in the country for over 18 weeks straight. She became the Sub-bantam Champion (100,200 Long Jump) in Nevada, and the Northern California Sub-Bantam Championship meet as well.She was 7.She competed in the Regionals In Cerritos as a Bantam, ran a great time for a 7 year old  in the 100m 14.39 and 200m  finished 6th  and 7th over all for the meet and PR’ed.  Her competion was 8 1/2 to 10 years old.  She wasn’t able to qualify on to  USATF Nationals .

As I began to do my own research I discovered the AAU National JO Meet had a Sub-Bantam division (Primary) . Lauren was able to continue on  to a Championship meet in her age group and become the National Champion in the 100m 200m Silver medalist with a Pr of 29.82 and Long Jumped to a 4th place Copper medal.  She competed against the fastest Primary (Sub-bantams)  girls in the nation and had a great time. 

 On the first day she fell about 5 meters from the finish line ,got up in tears crossed the line and finished 2nd in the heat, because of  the 2 rounds she was able to qualify regroup and win the title of “  2007 AAU National Champion” All American. in the 100m 

This was the appropriate end to a season of hard work and dedication.  Gold then, taking siliver  to Daesha Rodgers was the highlight of the season. She ran against the fastest in the nation and it was a stand out race.The crowd was excited and anticipated a great race by the top 4 in the nation. They were not disappointed. Neither were we. The rankings supported that in the end.

That was a great Championship.   Year to year Henry and I make the descion for Lauren that will best create sucess and fun for her.That may be AAU it may be USATF each year we assess all options and see  what works best for our family , Lauren ,our budget and time limitations. Being on a team , this year we did both ,but had the most fun at AAU., In part of course because  of great success and performing near her top level and ultimately becoming the,AA U2008 100,200 National Champion. At USATF she was  7th place finisher in the100m. I think for us the reason USATF wasn’t as much fun for us was because we knew more families  from around the country at AAU,the general atmosphere was much more festive and inviting, The venue was great Eastern Michigan University, lots of places for cooling,good bathrooms (you know that’s important to the ladies) Accomodating  polite volunteers.

USATF wasn’t a horrible experience,they had polite volunteers,venue was a very nice High School track(much bigger than your average high school,much more like a community college, great youth athletes and performances.   I will be posting more on the Championship landscape as the months progress.

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This article was written by  guest contributor Coach Mike Cunliffe for TrackMom.com

 Coach Mike Cunliffe, Is the  Head Coach of the Seattle Speed Track Club  See his latest Interview Here . A USATF (former TAC) medalist - 5^thplace - in Nebraska 1982 (Inter. Boys LJ)  and dad of Hannah Cunliffe AAU Midiget Girl Double National Champion 100m and 200m.

 

 Fast Facts on Junior Olympic National Meets - AAU and USATF

 

 Size of Venue - Number of T&F athletes

• AAU - 8500 +/- (this year estimated 9,500)
• USATF - 4500 +/-(this year estimated 6,000)

Parental Consideration:The AAU is a much larger meet. In fact it is the largest T&F meet in the world having more T&F athletes than the Olympic Games themselves.

 

Age Groups

• AAU - Year of Birth only Competition
• USATF - 2 year age groups

The AAU starts age groups at age 8 (Primary) then go to 9 (Sub-Bantam) then 10 (Bantam) and on up. You compete against your year of birth only. The question as a parent is why train for a whole year (spending gas, time, meet fees, equipment, Saturday’s in stadiums, etc) and miss the finals only because you’re not big enough? This has nothing to do with speed at all, simply growth patterns, yet the kids are penalized.

 Being bigger - What does it have to do with being a better/faster athlete? Answer: nothing.  - Why lump the kids together every 2 birth years? Why not lump boys and girls together? Because there is a physical advantage by one group and the logic does not make sense. The AAU President has stated that the reason for single age groups was based on consultation between the AAU and various physicians on the matter; and they were told the advantages of age at this level of development are very substantial. For instance a midget boy who is age 10.5 at the time of the competition (with a Sept, Oct birthday) versus a 12.5 yr old boy (with a Jan, Feb birthday) - what does this have to do with skill or ability? Again - Answer: Nothing. Conclusion why train for a year, spend time and money only to place in the top 20 at nationals only because you need to grow; how is this fair to your child and the effort that he or she has put in all year?

 Parental Consideration: The parental question that has to be asked: If it’s about the kids why send them to a meet and spend over a $1000 to have them lose because they have not grown enough. Their opportunity at the AAU nationals to get a medal is much greater because they are running only against their year of birth, which is actually and this is the bottom line - a fair race.  

 Qualifying for Nationals

• AAU - Top  4 finishers qualify for nationals from the regional meet in each year of birth. More people go to nationals and the ones that go have a much better chance at medaling.  So for 9 yr old boys - 4 qualify and for 10 yr old bys 4 qualify   
• USATF - Top 3 finishers qualify for nationals and you have to compete against athlhetes that are sometimes nearly 2 years older than you. For 9 & 10 yr old boys 3 qualify

Parental Consideration: As a parent your child has a much higher percentage of qualifying for nationals at the AAU meet. Therefore National meet exposure

Say your child is very fast but within their age group there are 4 or 5 children that are faster. For instance in the(USATF) bantam boys age division; if your child is 9 and there are three 10 yr olds (within a 3-4 state area) that are faster and possibly one 9 yr old who is faster. At the USATF they place 5^thand go home. At the AAU meet they place 2^nd in the 9 yr old age division and get to compete in the largest (and fastest youth see information below) T&F meet on earth.  

 100M & 200M Qualifying for the Finals (more races for your money)

AAU - At the AAU they follow a world elite T&F format not a high school meet format. The AAU has a prelim, semi-final, final. The reason being they recognize you can have a bad race early and not get another opportunity. This allows (similar to the collegiate championship and professional championship levels) the athletes to make adjustments through the week in order to perform their best. At these short distances if a mistake is made it is very difficult to make it up in the race, this is why at the top levels of T&F multiple rounds are used. If someone who should make the finals is a bit off in the prelims they can recover in the semis and do what there supposed to do. Look at the Olympic Games, World Championships, any very important  elite meet.

USATF - 1 and done; same as HS state meets.

Parental Consideration: Kids are kids and professionalism is professionalism regardless of time and place. Being the Junior Olympic National Championships and the importance of the meet both on the national T&F level to following the world “big meet” formats of 3 rounds in the sprints (they actually have 4 rounds in some events such as the Olympic Games) makes sense. Also in the lives of the young athletes who come to compete they are given 1) greater opportunity 2) a more professional venue and meet format and 3) allowed to compete longer even if they don’t make the finals. For instance if they run the 100 and 200; why fly over a 1,000 miles to run 1 or 2 races when they could run 2-4 races allowing for better money spent and it also allows the child more depth and experience running on the big stage for future years to come. Like the old saying goes; nothing beats experience. Bottom line more for your money as a parent and more national experience for your child as a young developing athlete.     

 2008 Meet location

• AAU was in Detroit at Eastern Michigan University.
• USATF is in Omaha, Nebraska on a High School track.

Parental Consideration: A family who sends 1 parent and 1 child will spend over $1300 on airfare $400 in hotels and $300 in food T-Shirts, etc. Essentially $2000; do you want to go to Detroit and compete in a collegiate top line track facility or sit in a Nebraska high school stadium. Remember it is your money being spent not the coaches or team budgets.

Coaches & Athletes

• AAU - Coaches are allowed into the warm-up area, they provide water for coaches and athletes. In 2007 they received a coach’s gift pack (a $50 computer bag, stop watch, and a $20 event T-Shirt). Athletes got a spike bag, event T-Shirt and other items.
• USATF - No access allowed, no water, no ice. No gift pack. No athlete gift pack.

Parental Consideration: Simply more polish and a greater value for your money at AAU.  most important direct access to the athletes for coaches during the most important week of the year.

Speed Comparison

•  Due to formatting  problems I unable to  be post here. For an emailed copy of the spread sheet please email trackmom1@gmail.com and she will forward it to you promptly.

Parental Consideration: Go to where the fastest athletes overall are competing.

Conclusion - How Your Money is being spent:

Bottom line it is your money as a parent and you are simply looking to (and expecting) coaches to help you spend it on your child in the most wise and prudent manner. Here are some items for you to consider and would expect your child’s coach to consider before they help you spend your money. 

1. Fair competition (1 yr age groups)
2. Bigger and Better venue
3. Better coach access to athletes
4. Greater opportunity of qualifying for nationals
5. The ability to run more rounds (races) and get greater national experience even if you don’t make the finals
6. More of the fastest overall athletes

Coach mike has given me a excel spread sheet on 2007 Results Comparison if you want a copy simly e-mail me and I will forward it to you trackmom1@gmail.com

 

The above is not based on any opinion it is simply a list of facts for each family to think about when spending their money.

I hope this has been both informative and educational for you as a parent. I also hope this helps to better inform not only you but your child’s coach when they are considering where to suggest you send your child.

Final Note: We recommend that each family do this evaluation each year so that you select the best venue and opportunity for your child. This forces both the AAU and USATF to compete for hard earned dollars and provide the best product available. Not making emotional pleas for your participation but improving on and competing for your money in the open market place year after year. I welcome you comment on this form.

Coach Mike

Seattle Speed

Related posts:

1. Day 2 July 29th,2008 AAU Junior Olympic Games
2. The AAU Northern Indoor Junior Olympic Games
3. AAU Narrows Choices for 2013-2022 Junior Olympic Games
4. Rockford Fire’s Next Stop ….AAU Junior Olympic Games
5. AAU Junior Olympic Games .. Central California Wins Big