Photo by www.ArtChick.biz
For young athletes, summer offers no vacation
MONDAY, AUGUST 6, 2012
BY DEBRA LYNN VIAL
STAFF WRITER
THE RECORD
There’s a saying about the lazy, hazy days of summer. These kids have never heard it.
There’s no time to lie around playing video games when there are laps to be swum or home runs to hit.
In late June, the summer leagues come to life in North Jersey. A whole season’s worth of swim meets, baseball and soccer games, roller hockey, diving, you name it gets crammed into a few hot weeks.
A typical day for Courtney Flanigan, 13, is a morning swim practice followed by an afternoon soccer session. In the evenings, it’s game time for at least one of the sports.
“Last week, I left the swim meet after my race and went to the next town over for my soccer game,” said Courtney, a Paramus resident. Her hair was still dripping wet when she scored her first goal.
The hard work has paid off: She has four first-place ribbons from swim meets. And her soccer team is undefeated.
Does she miss not being able to sleep late or spend a day goofing around with friends? “Not at all,” she said. “My friends are on my teams.”
https://www.northjersey.com/recreation/165100246_For_young_athletes__summer_offers_no_vacation.html
It is a lifestyle choice.