Photo: Chris Muir
Every day at noon, while the other kids fool around in the cafeteria, 13-year-old Ryan Oehrlein heads out the door. He does gymnastics by himself for four hours at a gym in Milton, Ont. There are no lineups at the apparatuses, no small talk, nothing to make him stop and catch his breath. It?s so quiet that he?s happy when the preschool program is going on. ?That?s how lonely it gets. I look forward to little recreation kids coming,? says Ryan.
Ryan hopes to compete at the Olympics one day. This summer, as the London Summer Games take place, many kids will join Ryan in embracing that dream. Their parents might cheer them on, but do they know what it takes to raise an Olympian" It won?t be just the child who makes the sacrifice. The glory at the end of the day may be worth it, but the life of a parent of an Olympic hopeful is a stretched thin one. It?s an existence defined by crammed in routines and hours driving or waiting on the bleachers. Vacations and friends outside the sport dwindle. Many parents can?t consider a job opportunity if it means moving away from the coach or messing up the training schedule. Some families with elite-level athletes pull up their roots entirely and move provinces to access better training for their kids.
?It?s a tough slog being a parent of an elite athlete,? says Nick Holt, professor at the University of Alberta?s Faculty of Physical Education and Recreation in Edmonton. ?I try to encourage parents to go into it with th...