Preteens and teens in intensive sport training?

[Mirzam]

I am wondering if anyone here has a preteen or a teen in intensive sports training and how you support them and juggle school and training. For the next three weeks my 12 yo DD will be undergoing a tough training schedule for her sport (sport climbing) in preparation for a competition. She will be training four school nights a week and at least one weekend, possible both Saturday and Sunday between two to four hours a session, definitely four hours over weekends. She is a 6th grader and goes to an experiential middle school, so she doesn't generally get a great deal of homework, unless she has a major project due. Any suggestions as to what you do for your kid would be greatly appreciated. I obviously will ensure she eats nutrient dense foods (she does already), gets plenty of sleep (not always easy as she is a night-time reader). It will be a tough period for us all, as I already have a 10 year old who, even in the off season, trains almost as hard with soccer.

[zebra15]

I guess for me it would all depend on what hours she is in school and what hours her training is. So for example if school is 8-3 and training is 330-6 (M-TH) and she has the rest of the evening to herself thats great. If school is 8-3 and training is 6-9pm I'm not as comfortable with that. I like to be home and 'done' by 7 or so. Occassionally a late night is ok but I wouldnt be comfortable with outside activites that late and my child possibly needing to wind-down late at night.

[mom2ponygirl]

I was a competitive swimmer and in 6th grade my schedule was - 6:00-7:50 AM practice and 3:30-5 PM every weekday and then a 2-3 hour practice Saturday.

School wasn't tough to fit in, but time with friends was hard to come by. My mom would always say - you swim with them several hours a day. However, you can't actually talk and swim at the same time. LOL

Anyway, I never felt stressed by the schedule although now that I'm a parent, I'm sure my mom was.

[montlake]

Have you checked with the school to see if they have Private PE option? Our school district lets kids who train intensively for competitive sports out early, basically cutting the school's PE period out of their day. They have to have forms filled out by coach's and stuff to verify they are training, but it definitely frees up some of their time. Maybe they could work out something like that for you guys.

[Mirzam]

Originally Posted by zebra15

I guess for me it would all depend on what hours she is in school and what hours her training is. So for example if school is 8-3 and training is 330-6 (M-TH) and she has the rest of the evening to herself thats great. If school is 8-3 and training is 6-9pm I'm not as comfortable with that. I like to be home and 'done' by 7 or so. Occassionally a late night is ok but I wouldnt be comfortable with outside activites that late and my child possibly needing to wind-down late at night.

Thank you for your input. We have her schedule now and the latest it goes is 7.00 pm, so still time for homework and some down time. Honestly though, we would have worked around it if she did finish at 9.00 pm. This is very important for her, she owns climbing as her "thing", she loves it. Additionally, her coaches and her climbing peers are a tremendously positive in her life. I am very grateful that she has the sport and is excelling in it (she has been identified as having the potential to be one of the best women climbers in the country), DH and I feel we must do all we can to support her in this, if that is what she wants to do.

Originally Posted by mom2ponygirl

I was a competitive swimmer and in 6th grade my schedule was - 6:00-7:50 AM practice and 3:30-5 PM every weekday and then a 2-3 hour practice Saturday.

School wasn't tough to fit in, but time with friends was hard to come by. My mom would always say - you swim with them several hours a day. However, you can't actually talk and swim at the same time. LOL

Anyway, I never felt stressed by the schedule although now that I'm a parent, I'm sure my mom was.

Thanks for the insight. DD never seems stressed about her training schedule and will always try and find extra time to go to the climbing gym if she can. She isn't much of a socializer outside of school, so wanting to hang out with school friends isn't an issue for us yet.

Originally Posted by montlake

Have you checked with the school to see if they have Private PE option? Our school district lets kids who train intensively for competitive sports out early, basically cutting the school's PE period out of their day. They have to have forms filled out by coach's and stuff to verify they are training, but it definitely frees up some of their time. Maybe they could work out something like that for you guys.

That is good to know, it won't work for us at this point as DD doesn't have PE this semester, but I will definitely bear this mind for the future.

[mtiger]

My 15yo (sophomore in HS) has played field hockey for the past 5 years, year round (with a few weeks between seasons). She leaves the house at 6am, gets home from school at ~3pm (she attends a specialized science HS ~45-60 minutes away).

During the HS season, she goes straight to our home HS for FH, and gets home between 6 and 7:30pm, depending on whether it's practice or a game.

Winter and Spring leagues, she's home from 3 until 5:30, 7:00 or 8:30pm - depending on when the games and practices are. Those are both indoor leagues, so they have to jockey for field time. She's out for about 2 1/2-3 hours. So yeah, there are nights she doesn't get home until 11:30.

Summer, she plays in a league, plus they have "non-mandatory" practices. League games are usually ~6pm. Starts in May, runs 'til the end of June, so she's still in school. Non-mandatories start right after July 4th, and are usually 2 hours a day, plus she alternates the weight room and running 6 days a week. Mandatories start in August, and those are usually 2 hours, plus there an non-mandatory Captain's practices for 2 hours in the evenings. Anyone who expects to play Varsity is pretty well expected to attend.

It's a tough schedule and requires a lot of organization and discipline. Depending on her current schedule, I try to pack her "off time" meals heavily as she physically can't eat soon before playing/working out. So if it's a 9pm game, I make sure breakfast and lunch are nutritionally heavy. If she's home at 7:30, dinner is.

Homework is done in between and/or on the road. She does have a lot of it, due to her school, but she gets it done. Her teachers do tend to cut her a bit of slack in terms of turning work in, giving her an extra day if needed. She tries to avoid taking advantage of that.

She does manage to find time to spend with her friends. Obviously, a lot of them are on her team, but quite a few are from her school.

Yes, there is the potential of scholarships, etc for her as she's good. But more importantly, she really enjoys it and physically needs to be active. That's the important part, for me. She knows she can quit anytime she wants, but it's something she loves.

[Mirzam]

mtiger, thank you for your post. It gives me somewhat of a heads up for what is to come when both of my kids are in HS. It certainly is a huge commitment for both kids and parents when they are serious about a sport. But totally worth it, IMO, if this is what they want in their life.

[neptunemama]

My 8 yr old is a competitive gymnast, and has practice from 4-8pm TTh, and on Sat. from 10-2. My rec is to make sure your dd eats a really good meal, not a snack, after school before she goes climbing. I bring my dd a carb/protein combo of some sort in a thermos when I pick her up from school, pasta w/beans and olive oil, lentil soup and bread, or I'll make her a burrito. She also eats some fruit or yogurt too. When I pick her up, I also bring her another meal to eat in the car on the way home. Not ideal, but she doesn't eat anything during practice so even the 15 min car ride home is too long w/o food. Usually she comes home, relaxes for 15-20 min, sometimes eats more food, then takes a bath and goes to bed. She loves to read also, so bath time is also for reading, then she'll read for 5-10 min in bed if she's not too tired. She's usually in bed w/the lights out by 9:15.

If your dd will stop to eat, pack her food she can eat quickly but won't make her feel too full, like berries, crackers, olives, something like that.

My dd doesn't have nightly homework yet, she gets a weekly packet, so she does hers on the days she doesn't have practice. And since her practice is only 2 school days a week, she has time for friends and family the other 5 days a week, since she's done by 2pm on Sat.