I'm perusing an article on the home-page here, and I read about a young girl named Keturah Orji who represents what I've been ranting about in the thread's subject area.
Last year as a sophomore (15/16 years old) she ran a 200 in 24.67 and a 400 in 56.71, both promising marks, but typical of a USA teen girl who is 'good'.
But . . . in her first year of jumping she went
LJ - 19' 7.5 (~6m) TJ - 41' (~12.50)
That's her debut season with what I will call 'competent' coaching (which most of us HS coaches aspire to).
Catch #1 - she likes volleyball too Catch #2 - she will continue to run 100s, 200s, 400s, and add in an occasional HJ.
12.50 in her first (young) year of the TJ. Is this not a girl that COULD become a viable force in the TJ? But she will (probably) be lost in the shuffle somewhere along the line. If she received the encouragement, support and patience she needs, could not she have a decent chance to become a 14m (46'), if not 15m (49') jumper? That would put her at the top of the Ami ranks and the latter number would make her truly world-class.
While I have almost no knowledge of the American High School athletics scene, could part of the problem be that the triple jump is not considered a 'cool' event?
Deerfoot wrote:While I have almost no knowledge of the American High School athletics scene, could part of the problem be that the triple jump is not considered a 'cool' event?
I had never heard that (at the HS level). The 100 and mile are where all the non-talented kids go, so there goes their coolness.
The problem with the TJ in Oklahoma HS is that is so seldom contested it has no chance to be cool or uncool. No one is good at it. The rare competitions are more like experimental training and a pain to conduct. . the TJers are the LJers and also running the sprints, hurdles and sprint relays. The TJ is more widely contested in Texas HS and a few genuine TJers show up at the Texas Relays every year..dunno how you change the mindset.
Marlow wrote:I'm perusing an article on the home-page here, and I read about a young girl named Keturah Orji who represents what I've been ranting about in the thread's subject area.
Last year as a sophomore (15/16 years old) she ran a 200 in 24.67 and a 400 in 56.71, both promising marks, but typical of a USA teen girl who is 'good'.
But . . . in her first year of jumping she went
LJ - 19' 7.5 (~6m) TJ - 41' (~12.50)
That's her debut season with what I will call 'competent' coaching (which most of us HS coaches aspire to).
Catch #1 - she likes volleyball too Catch #2 - she will continue to run 100s, 200s, 400s, and add in an occasional HJ.
Just sayin' . . . sigh . . .
Catch #3 - she also has the option to represent Nigeria rather than the USA if the opportunity arises for her to compete internationally. (There's nothing that suggests she'd do that, but she has the choice.)
Marlow wrote:I'm perusing an article on the home-page here, and I read about a young girl named Keturah Orji who represents what I've been ranting about in the thread's subject area. Last year as a sophomore (15/16 years old) she ran a 200 in 24.67 and a 400 in 56.71, both promising marks, but typical of a USA teen girl who is 'good'. But . . . in her first year of jumping she went LJ - 19' 7.5 (~6m) TJ - 41' (~12.50) That's her debut season with what I will call 'competent' coaching (which most of us HS coaches aspire to). Catch #1 - she likes volleyball too Catch #2 - she will continue to run 100s, 200s, 400s, and add in an occasional HJ. Just sayin' . . . sigh . . .
Catch #3 - she also has the option to represent Nigeria rather than the USA if the opportunity arises for her to compete internationally. (There's nothing that suggests she'd do that, but she has the choice.)
Well, then I guess the good news is that we (USA) are so abysmally bad in this event, that she won't get scared off by the competition for a WC/OG berth when the time comes . . . sigh.
Marlow wrote:I'm perusing an article on the home-page here, and I read about a young girl named Keturah Orji who represents what I've been ranting about in the thread's subject area.
Last year as a sophomore (15/16 years old) she ran a 200 in 24.67 and a 400 in 56.71, both promising marks, but typical of a USA teen girl who is 'good'.
But . . . in her first year of jumping she went
LJ - 19' 7.5 (~6m) TJ - 41' (~12.50)
That's her debut season with what I will call 'competent' coaching (which most of us HS coaches aspire to).
Catch #1 - she likes volleyball too Catch #2 - she will continue to run 100s, 200s, 400s, and add in an occasional HJ.
Just sayin' . . . sigh . . .
Catch #3 - she also has the option to represent Nigeria rather than the USA if the opportunity arises for her to compete internationally. (There's nothing that suggests she'd do that, but she has the choice.)
She'd probably have a better chance of making the US team than the Nigerian team.
