Friday, May 24, 2019

10 Reasons Triathlon is Great for Youth



Guest post from Wes Johnson, founder and head coach of BAM and USAT Youth & Junior National Team Coach

1. Novelty: Childhood and adolescence are times of life filled with exploration. With three sports, new places and new challenges, triathlon is an avenue with endless new experiences.


2. Movement: As their bodies grow, youth who move in many patterns and directions develop mastery of and appreciation for their own bodies.

3. Energy Management: When youth expend energy in sports, they will likely have an easier time sleeping and rising in regular cycles, and being alert or calm as life situations demand.

4. Improved Learning: Youth with concrete goals, such as finishing their first tri or improving upon previous ones, have strong motivations to want to learn so they can succeed. The more practice they get learning, the better they'll be at learning in all areas of life.

5. Experiencing Success: Triathlon is hard! The challenges are tangible ... and so is the sense of success when they overcome obstacles and see their times improve.

6. A Stronger Mindset: What do you do when things don't go as planned? Triathlon is full of surprises! With the right coaches, youth learn mental strategies to face setbacks head-on, continuing toward their goals with a healthy attitude.

7. Trust and Confidence: There's nothing quite like knowing you accomplished something hard. Youth who experience themselves overcoming challenges know they have what it takes.

8. Appreciation for Routine: While many youth want to do things "how they do them" (which is different every time!), they can learn in triathlon that sometimes (in transition), following a set order (wetsuit off first, helmet on next...) increases their chance at success.

9. New Friends: As a developing sport, most youth triathlon programs bring together youth from various neighborhoods, schools and even ages. The exposure to new people brings new experiences and great memories!

10. AVOID BURNOUT! Saved this for last because every time it happens is a tragedy! We unfortunately so often see youth drive hard in a single sport and then burnout when they plateau or face a major setback. When they could continue growing and excelling, they stop all together. Many of these episodes can be avoided by regularly having youth rotate through other sports. The cross-training of swimming, biking and running is great for all sports. So no matter what your youth's primary sport is or their ambitions, triathlon is a great activity for them to have in the mix.

WE INVITE YOUR YOUTH TO BAM SUMMER CAMP!






We have sessions Monday thru Saturday in the lower Salt Lake Valley, and in Heber on Mondays and Wednesdays. Camp goes 10 weeks from June 3 thru August 9.


MONDAYS
8:00 - 9:30am - bike + run @ Sugar House Park
10:30 - 11:30am - swim, bike + run @ Wasatch Aquatic Center (Heber)

TUESDAYS
8:00 - 9:00am - swim + bike + run @ South County Pool (Riverton - this session is TBD - If you are interested, please contact us so we can confirm demand)
9:00 - 10:00am - swim + run @ Cottonwood Heights Rec Center

WEDNESDAYS
6:00 - 7:30pm - bike + run @ BAM (Sandy)
10:30 - 11:30am - swim, bike + run @ Wasatch Aquatic Center (Heber)

THURSDAYS
7:00 - 8:30am - swim + run @ South County Pool (Riverton)
6:00 - 7:30pm - swim + run @ Cottonwood Heights Rec Center

FRIDAYS
8:30 - 10:00am - open water swim @ Blackridge Reservoir (Herriman)

SATURDAY
varies - races, longer workouts

We welcome youth at all levels of ability and interest! My staff of Youth & Junior Coaches and I are thrilled to work with your youth and have a great summer. This is our 7th year running a youth summer tri camp, and we take all the feedback we can get to make each year better than the last. Our commitment is that all youth have a great experience and develop skills that they can use in sport and in life.

You can sign up to attend 1-2 times a week, or 3-5. Registration is also available for the entire 10-week camp or just a month at a time. And if your youth is on the fence and wants to try it out for a few days, let us know.


Sign up for BAM Youth Tri Camp


We hope you'll join us.

BAM Youth & Junior Coaches
Wes Johnson
Andrew Stasinos
Shannon Clawson
Bill Fowler
Jo Garuccio
Jeff Sherrod
Mitch Child

Coaches Wes, Andrew and Bill with several BAM Youth 
Campers at the 2018 Murray Youth & Family Triathlon


UTAH TRIATHLON CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES 2019 DETAILS --> SEE POST HERE !


Below are links to all the races in the 2019 Championship Series:

Below are links to all Challenger Races:





We started a Patreon account (link below) with the hope of raising a few bucks towards awards & swag for athletes of all abilities in our tri community. We've given out a lot over the past 2 years, but would like to continue to expand our offerings & the volume we can do.

If you enjoy Utah Tri Buzz and would like to pitch in, any amount would be greatly appreciated... (there may be something in it for you as well!)



We're also always grateful for talented people who contribute in terms of time... let us know if you'd like to be part of the Utah Tri Buzz team.


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