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[Editor's Note: Penny Sparks was an elite runner
herself and now she coaches and roots for her daughter, Shanna.
Most of the time it is fun. This is the story of one time it wasn't.
Shanna ran 10th in the Nevada 4A cross country meet in 21:13, nearly
3 minutes off her personal record. Penny Sparks' news account of
the state meet can be found on NevadaTrackStats
This is her story as a mother. - John Dye]
by Penny Sparks
The only big surprise in the girls 4A race came from the performance
of defending state champion Shanna Sparks. Shanna ran one minute
and 13 seconds slower then the previous week. Her time alone gives
a clear picture on how far she was off mentally and physically Saturday.
A 3-time Nevada champion in track and cross country, Shanna was
not only not in the hunt for defending her state championship, but
did not even finish as Carson's number one runner. She had company
to commiserate with. Katie McGrath, who has consistently been Reno's
number two runner all season ended up not finishing the race. Emily
Eskin, Green Valley's number one runner and two-time Sunrise Champion
was also never in contention with the top girls. Meghan Mathews,
sophomore, Centennial's number one runner and 2000 state runner
up in cross country finished 28th.
What happened to these girls?
I heard that question asked many times Saturday. Well, what did
happen? It is impossible to know what exactly happened to all these
girls on this day, because there are many reasons and many things
that can cause any athlete to have an off day on any given day.
The Reno's boy's team is proof of that. However, there is a big
difference in the physical development between what happens to an
adolescent male versus the adolescent female, especially when it
comes to the endurance and strength sports, such as cross country
running.
I would like to take the time to address this very important issue.
I am going to try to explain and hopefully help other young women
in understanding the sometimes-difficult part of a changing body.
I am only going to use Shanna as an example since I am not the
coach or mother of those other young
women I mentioned. I do not feel it is my right to comment on what
may or may not have been factors for them Saturday, as I am not
personally involved with any of them. However, I do believe that
some of the factors I will mention in regards to Shanna will hit
home for not only them, but others as well. In writing this section
my only desire is to give light and hope to young ladies and their
parents who do not understand what happened to their pre-young women
superstar.
Shanna had run undefeated in cross country in Nevada for five years,
sixth through tenth grade. Her one and only loss was to Abby Miller,
Nevada's most winning runner ever, her freshmen year. That alone
is tremendous pressure for a young athlete to handle. Every time
she stepped on the starting line everyone expected her to win. She
could never have a bad day or even a sub-par day. She was always
expected to win, win, win!
Getting to the top is fun, exciting and challenging. Staying at
the top is stressful, challenging, and not always a whole lot of
fun, especially for young athletes. We expect more out of them than
we do ourselves sometimes, if not most of the time. Once an athlete
has made a name for himself/herself high expectations come from
their coaches, teammates, friends, family, and most of all themselves.
That is not a bad thing for the most part. In fact, it can be a
very good thing if it is handled properly. The coach and parents
must always make sure that the athlete feels valued not for his
or her wins, but for his or her effort. And if they see you value
less gifted runners, who work equally as hard as the more successful
athlete, they will know that it is them you cherish, not their success.
Everyone feels bad for the hard working, less gifted athlete who
gets no recognition, but we forget about the pressure the successful
young elite runner has to deal with. Both ends of the spectrum have
psychological issues, and neither one should be ignored.I realize
that not all athletes will have to deal with the above situation
that Shanna has dealt with for the past five years, but to some
degree every
top athlete has had to deal with those same issues - the pressure
of staying at the top, whether in their team, their region, whatever.
Being king of the mountain is exhausting at best. Just ask any
kid who has ever played that game. Everybody is always after you.
There is no rest for number one, and much is always expected of
them. Let's not forget to be sympathetic and understanding to the
pressures the top runners face. It is human nature to delight in
someone being taken down from the top, but let us remember if you
or if one of your athletes is so lucky to be at the top at sometime
in their athletic career it is a difficult and lonely place at times.
I am now going to address an issue that has and will effect 90%
of most female athletes. The changing body - entering into womanhood.
Shanna has grown almost five inches and has gained 20 pounds in
a year and a half. This is a tremendous burden for a young female
athlete to deal with. It not only affects them physically, but psychologically
as well. Entering into womanhood is a wonderful thing unless you
are an endurance runner. At least that is what most uneducated coaches,
parents and, worst of all, young female athletes think. That is
why eating disorders are out of hand in young female athletes. They
come under the assumption that if they stay super skinny, like they
were in childhood, they will stay at their peak performance level.
However, that mentality has sometimes deadly consequences. And
at best it will shorten an athlete's running career. All of us have
examples of that in our own community. Eating disorders to stay
childlike in body will not only hurt the athlete's performance in
the long run; it can end it for them. We as coaches must be educated
in this very important matter, and then be on top of it at all times.
The fact is that distance running is purely an aerobic sport, and
young pre-pubertal girls are purely aerobic animals at a pre-adolescent
age. Their bodies, those of runners, are made for long distance
running at this age. They are lean, long legged, and small hipped;
their heart and lungs are the biggest part of them, physically speaking.
In other words, their organs are adult size, but they are not. That
gives young females a big advantage over their older counterparts.
This gives young female athletes the turbo in their engines.
Not only do young women lose that advantage, you also have to add
in the estrogen factor, the hormone that makes a woman soft, instead
of physically stronger like the male athlete. It can sometimes take
up to three years before a young women will reach her physical maturity
- fill out completely. That means a two to three year development
period for her physically.
At that point you are no longer an aerobic animal that once beat
a lot of boys, you now have a struggling young women who doesn't
understand or know what has happened to her. She gets discouraged
and loses heart and confidence at a rapid rate, which leads many
to dropping out of this wonderful sport before they truly realize
their full potential.
However, there is light at the end of the tunnel for those who
persevere and have the patience to not give up during the couple
of years it may take to adjust to their new body. If an elite young
female athlete's body does not change too drastically she will return
to top form. She may no longer have the advantages she had as a
young girl, but she gains different advantages she did not have
at an early age. She gains anaerobic strength, the ability to run
strong without oxygen. She gains muscular strength, she gains speed
endurance, and most of all she who perseveres gains mental strength.
These new found strengths enable the young adult female athlete
to train at a higher level, and this all leads to a higher level
of success.
The keys are perseverance and patience. Don't lose heart because
you have a few seasons where nothing seems to go right, and running
no longer comes as easy to you as it once did. There will be a time
again in your life if you don't give up on yourself where running
will once again bring joy into your life instead of frustration
and heartache.
I pray this article reaches and helps young women to understand
that there is light at the end of the tunnel to those who have the
patience and wisdom to hold on through the tough times.
As for Shanna, I know my daughter well. Shanna will be back, and
when she is it will be with a vengeance! She may be down, but she
most definitely is not out.
(Penny Sparks)
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