Run for it

I called Parkers Chapel athletic director Clancie Laymon last week to inquire about the school's cross country program. PC introduced cross country as a sport two years ago when Lexie Howell and her family moved to Arkansas from Utah.
Howell and volunteer coach Mark Hardenbrook got the program started and headed in a positive direction. She finished in the top 10 last year, earning All-State honors. Kyle Coke did the same thing on the boys team.
Even more impressive was the slew of young runners who were developing at the school. Hardenbrook said at least two and maybe three eighth grade girls had the potential to be as good or better than Lexie.
It was exciting to hear.
But, Lexie and her family moved to the New Orleans area at the end of the school year. Hardenbrook also moved to another job.
That's why I wanted to see how the program was doing this year.
My heart sank when Coach Laymon basically said the program has died. None of the kids are interested anymore. The eighth grade girls who had so much promise are playing tennis.
"But, they can play tennis and run cross country?" I said to Coach Laymon, who replied they just weren't interested in running.
Like I said, it's heart breaking.
Tennis is a great sport but there are so many opportunities in running. El Dorado's Irene Jadic was a great tennis player, 6A State champion last year and one of the top three or four girls in the state, period.
But, she's running cross country and track at the University of Pennsylvania. She ended up having a lot more college opportunities as a runner than as a tennis player.
Why? It's just a matter of competition. There are more girls playing tennis and soccer and softball than are running cross country. Cross country is a difficult sport. I've said it over and over. It takes a lot of heart and guts to be a distance runner. It's not a lot of fun. It's a lot of work.
One of my all-time favorite athletes - El Dorado's Kayla Waldrup - was faced with the dilemma of choosing soccer or cross country in high school. She loved soccer. Cross country? Not so much.
But, she made a business decision and never looked back, moving on to Arkansas Tech and now to a career.
"Soccer is my first love while cross country is my second," she said. "Looking back onto why I chose cross country over soccer, I realize that it was not because I was bad at soccer or did not want to be in that environment or did not have friends into soccer. I chose cross country over soccer mainly because cross country opened SO MANY doors of opportunity compared to soccer. I received a cross country scholarship for college, learned that I had a bigger family in cross country and on top of that, the more I learned about running and progressed in the sport, both in high school and college, the more I started liking it! I still pick up a soccer ball today whenever I get the chance but cross country has become my life."
Kayla Waldrup is a success story. She gave running a try and never looked back.
I hope the administrators at Parkers Chapel and other schools will emphasize cross country as a major sport. There are so many opportunities in that sport, especially for girls, but boys as well. It's not an easy sport. It takes heart and guts and hard work. But, the rewards are there.
Again, I'm not trying to sway anyone away from tennis or soccer or any other sport. The most important thing is - play something. But, if you have a child who has a talent for running, it would be in their best interest to at least give cross country a try.