The kids are alright
> report filed September 25, 2003 by Amy White
Juniortri.com is the virtual home of a unique junior triathlon team based in Massachusetts and headed up by triathlete and coach Steve Kelley. His aim is simple: to help develop triathlon's future by encouraging kids in their training and racing.
And the team is producing results, with national champions in its midst and two of its members planning their trips to New Zealand this December for the ITU World Championships.
The project came about after Kelley, himself an avid triathlete, cyclist and runner, went through the Level II coaching certification process through USA Triathlon. After he'd finished that, Cyle Sage invited him to help out as a regional athlete development coordinator for the governing body, and he's worked with USAT's Ric Rosenkranz on developing junior athletes. The work with the team meshes nicely with those other projects.
Now in its third season, the team originated as part of the Bay State Triathlon Team, Kelley said, and it's grown from there.
"After the first season we decided to make the junior program separate for sponsorship and visibility reasons, but Bay State remains one of our top financial sponsors," Kelley said. "Their support has been critical to our success." Along the way the team has gathered more sponsor support from Fast Splits, Fuel Belt, Louis Garneau, Aquaman Wetsuits and the local bike shop, Silver City Bicycles.
Kelley does this work as a labor of love--he has a regular job teaching high school history, and before that worked as an attorney for a large firm in Boston. Having his summers free allows him to focus on triathlon during those months, particularly the camps and clinics Juniortri.com produces.
As the junior racing scene winds down and kids go back to school, we thought it was high time to catch up with Steve and his crew.
Steve Kelley: This has been a banner year for us in terms of team development and success on the race course. Each year I have more and more kids interested in being part of the program. However, I generally limited it to nine or ten athletes to ensure that our sponsorships are not spread too thin. Based on contacts I've made with athletes over the summer, I expect to have twice as many applicants for next year's team. With that in mind, I'm working on a revised structure for the program that will include a select team for national level racing, a regional developmental squad, and an open team for the younger kids to join. I hate turning kids away.
As far as highlights, our athletes really turned in some spectacular performances this year.
Championships in Maine, giving us home-course advantage, of sorts. The team spent a week in Maine prior to the race. We worked on all the skills you need to be successful at ITU-style racing--super-fast transitions, group riding, aggressive swimming, etc. I think the practice paid off on race day. Kaitlyn Ellis, who won the 13-15 draft-legal division, had transition
splits equal with the male U23 athletes.
Now that national and world championships are entirely draft-legal for juniors and U23 athletes, it is very important that they have opportunities to practice this style of racing before they find themselves in an international field. USAT has shown that these races can be conducted safely and integrated into existing races when necessary. We need to identify more race directors who are willing to host these events.
need help figuring out how to fit triathlon into their school sports schedules. I typically encourage them to play as many sports as possible and save triathlon for the summer. We want to introduce them to triathlon without burning them out by age 20.
As in every sport, some kids bring an amazing level of commitment and dedication to triathlon. These kids usually find me before I find them. Our team's visibility at regional and national races has really helped to turn up new talent.
Kelley and his wife, Kati, have a four-month-old
daughter, Ava, and Kelley said he'd planned for a low-key racing season for himself. But then, as these things do, luck stepped in and he won a lottery spot to Kona--so he put in some serious miles over the summer and the whole family is planning a trip to the Big Island next month. Hopefully the post-Ironman recovery phase won't interrupt another of Kelley's pastimes, cyclocross.
To help raise funds for the team and the trip to New Zealand, Juniortri.com is, with Fuel Belt, offering supporters a gift of Crosswind backpacks and a running cap for helping the team with a $100 donation. Those can be made online at www.juniortri.com.
The project came about after Kelley, himself an avid triathlete, cyclist and runner, went through the Level II coaching certification process through USA Triathlon. After he'd finished that, Cyle Sage invited him to help out as a regional athlete development coordinator for the governing body, and he's worked with USAT's Ric Rosenkranz on developing junior athletes. The work with the team meshes nicely with those other projects.
Now in its third season, the team originated as part of the Bay State Triathlon Team, Kelley said, and it's grown from there.
"After the first season we decided to make the junior program separate for sponsorship and visibility reasons, but Bay State remains one of our top financial sponsors," Kelley said. "Their support has been critical to our success." Along the way the team has gathered more sponsor support from Fast Splits, Fuel Belt, Louis Garneau, Aquaman Wetsuits and the local bike shop, Silver City Bicycles.
Kelley does this work as a labor of love--he has a regular job teaching high school history, and before that worked as an attorney for a large firm in Boston. Having his summers free allows him to focus on triathlon during those months, particularly the camps and clinics Juniortri.com produces.
As the junior racing scene winds down and kids go back to school, we thought it was high time to catch up with Steve and his crew.
Triathlon Informer: So how has the program development gone, and what have been the highlights this season?
Steve Kelley: This has been a banner year for us in terms of team development and success on the race course. Each year I have more and more kids interested in being part of the program. However, I generally limited it to nine or ten athletes to ensure that our sponsorships are not spread too thin. Based on contacts I've made with athletes over the summer, I expect to have twice as many applicants for next year's team. With that in mind, I'm working on a revised structure for the program that will include a select team for national level racing, a regional developmental squad, and an open team for the younger kids to join. I hate turning kids away.
As far as highlights, our athletes really turned in some spectacular performances this year.
Marisa Ryan won the USAT Junior Elite Duathlon National Championship. Caitlin Shea-Kenney (right) put in a really gutsy performance at the U23 National Championships to take second place and earn a spot for Worlds in New Zealand. She also won the U23 division of the USAT Junior/U23 National Series. She has been coached by Karen Smyers for the past year with great effect, it seems. We also had Mark Cote recognized as one of 12 scholar-athletes from around the country. He's off to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology this fall.
TI: How has the training gone for draft-legal racing, and has it helped that USAT has created/sanctioned some draft-legal races to allow juniors to develop those skills?
SK: The draft-legal series has been wonderful for the team to focus on. It has really elevated our game. This year we had the Junior/U23 NationalChampionships in Maine, giving us home-course advantage, of sorts. The team spent a week in Maine prior to the race. We worked on all the skills you need to be successful at ITU-style racing--super-fast transitions, group riding, aggressive swimming, etc. I think the practice paid off on race day. Kaitlyn Ellis, who won the 13-15 draft-legal division, had transition
splits equal with the male U23 athletes.
Now that national and world championships are entirely draft-legal for juniors and U23 athletes, it is very important that they have opportunities to practice this style of racing before they find themselves in an international field. USAT has shown that these races can be conducted safely and integrated into existing races when necessary. We need to identify more race directors who are willing to host these events.
TI: How do you think the future stars of the sport should be training now, and where will you be looking for them? How should they be developing
their talent?
SK: This is always a tough question to answer, because each kid comes into the sport with a different athletic background and unique goals. All, however, need to develop the fundamentals of each sport. If they are serious about racing as an elite someday, then developing their swim is probably the most important. I stress the fun stuff too, like practicing transitions, swim entries and exits, bike handling skills. I also find that kidstheir talent?
need help figuring out how to fit triathlon into their school sports schedules. I typically encourage them to play as many sports as possible and save triathlon for the summer. We want to introduce them to triathlon without burning them out by age 20.
As in every sport, some kids bring an amazing level of commitment and dedication to triathlon. These kids usually find me before I find them. Our team's visibility at regional and national races has really helped to turn up new talent.
Kelley and his wife, Kati, have a four-month-old daughter, Ava, and Kelley said he'd planned for a low-key racing season for himself. But then, as these things do, luck stepped in and he won a lottery spot to Kona--so he put in some serious miles over the summer and the whole family is planning a trip to the Big Island next month. Hopefully the post-Ironman recovery phase won't interrupt another of Kelley's pastimes, cyclocross.
To help raise funds for the team and the trip to New Zealand, Juniortri.com is, with Fuel Belt, offering supporters a gift of Crosswind backpacks and a running cap for helping the team with a $100 donation. Those can be made online at www.juniortri.com.