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Jason Harris

Oh, the silly things humans do

By Jason Harris, in Miscellaneous Discussions

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Jason Harris    31

Jason Harris
Posted

DNA testing of children to determine in which sports they might excel

When Donna Campiglia learned recently that a genetic test might be able to determine which sports suit the talents of her 2 1/2- year-old son, Noah, she instantly said, "Where can I get it, and how much does it cost?"

"I think it would prevent a lot of parental frustration," she said.

In health-conscious, sports-oriented Boulder, Atlas Sports Genetics is playing into the obsessions of parents by offering a $149 test that aims to predict a child's natural athletic strengths. The process is simple. Swab inside the child's cheek and along the gums to collect the DNA and return it to a laboratory for analysis of ACTN3, one gene among more than 20,000 in the human genome.

The test's goal is to determine whether a person would be best at speed and power sports such as sprinting or football, or endurance sports such as distance running, or a combination of the two. A 2003 study discovered the link between ACTN3 and those athletic abilities.

Prevent parental frustration??? My experience is it would lead to quite the opposite. Little Johnny was supposed to be fast -- why isn't he running faster?!?!

Also, how well would the test determine the timetable for this potential? When I was younger, I was small and slow. In high school, I was still small but became a sprinter. In my upper 20's, I became fairly decent-sized while still maintaining my speed. (Of course, finally, in my mid 40's, I've gone full circle and am too large and too slow! :P ) The point, of course, is I was a far cry from my ultimate potential throughout my entire youth sports career, so I could see parents becoming frustrated that the DNA testing was wrong about Little Johnny.

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Rustpot    1

Rustpot
Posted

Plus the fact that kids never end up doing what their parents want them to do. My dad wanted me to play football like you wouldn't believe, ended up joining the robotics team and science clubs after quitting football.

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jrhky36    1

jrhky36
Posted
DNA testing of children to determine in which sports they might excel

Also, how well would the test determine the timetable for this potential? When I was younger, I was small and slow. In high school, I was still small but became a sprinter. In my upper 20's, I became fairly decent-sized while still maintaining my speed. (Of course, finally, in my mid 40's, I've gone full circle and am too large and too slow! :P ) The point, of course, is I was a far cry from my ultimate potential throughout my entire youth sports career, so I could see parents becoming frustrated that the DNA testing was wrong about Little Johnny.

didn't the russians do something like this during the 70's and 80's.

i agree with jason, the opposite affect will be too great. parents will start pushing even harded than they do now. they could possible stop looking at little johnny as their son and more like a meal ticket. i for one would NOT test my son. if he loves a sport and wants to excell he'll work his ass off to get better no matter what a dnna test reveals. no test can offset hard work, mental perservence, and the desire to play. what about letting kids play different sports to experience them before selecting just one to focus on. kids need variety early on and should not singlely focus on one sport until high school

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Warriorsdman    1

Warriorsdman
Posted
DNA testing of children to determine in which sports they might excel
When Donna Campiglia learned recently that a genetic test might be able to determine which sports suit the talents of her 2 1/2- year-old son, Noah, she instantly said, "Where can I get it, and how much does it cost?"

"I think it would prevent a lot of parental frustration," she said.

In health-conscious, sports-oriented Boulder, Atlas Sports Genetics is playing into the obsessions of parents by offering a $149 test that aims to predict a child's natural athletic strengths. The process is simple. Swab inside the child's cheek and along the gums to collect the DNA and return it to a laboratory for analysis of ACTN3, one gene among more than 20,000 in the human genome.

The test's goal is to determine whether a person would be best at speed and power sports such as sprinting or football, or endurance sports such as distance running, or a combination of the two. A 2003 study discovered the link between ACTN3 and those athletic abilities.

Prevent parental frustration??? My experience is it would lead to quite the opposite. Little Johnny was supposed to be fast -- why isn't he running faster?!?!

Also, how well would the test determine the timetable for this potential? When I was younger, I was small and slow. In high school, I was still small but became a sprinter. In my upper 20's, I became fairly decent-sized while still maintaining my speed. (Of course, finally, in my mid 40's, I've gone full circle and am too large and too slow! :P ) The point, of course, is I was a far cry from my ultimate potential throughout my entire youth sports career, so I could see parents becoming frustrated that the DNA testing was wrong about Little Johnny.

No surprise that it is Boulder. However, they did win state championships for three divisions of high school hockey, and went to at least regionals (in a couple cases nationals) for various tournaments and league playoffs at the u16 and u18 a and aa levels in one season.

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roscoe6    1

roscoe6
Posted

Plaxico Buress.

Its not necessarily silly, off-beat, crazy, or tragic, but more along the lines of 'WTF, really dude?'

EDIT: Spelling error.

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Jason Harris    31

Jason Harris
Posted
what about letting kids play different sports to experience them before selecting just one to focus on.

No kidding.

I can just imagine the following scenario between a father and his six-year-old son while watching an NHL game.

"Wow, Daddy, hockey is awesome! Can I play it?"

"Well, do you remember last year when the doctor stuck a little stick into your mouth?"

"I think so..."

"Well, it turns out that hockey isn't going to be your best sport. You won't have the VO2 capacity, but the doctor thinks you're going to have great flexibility. He thinks that will help you with tennis, so you'll be starting that in the spring. Make sense?"

"Um, yeah, I guess....."

My daughters play soccer, baseball and hockey. I'm fairly certain the DNA analysis would have told us the older girl won't be that tall, won't weigh too much, and won't be too coordinated, but she loves playing all the games. And if we can free up more time or money, I'll let her try another sport, even though I doubt she'd be all that good. Yet I could see some parents not giving their children the sheer fun of playing certain games, because it wouldn't potentially play to their strengths.

Regarding Burress, I've never owned a gun, but is it easy to shot yourself, or do you have a put a bit of effort into it?

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Monty22    833

Monty22
Posted
"Regarding Burress, I've never owned a gun, but is it easy to shot yourself, or do you have a put a bit of effort into it?

It's easy if you don't follow the basic safety rules drilled into your head by every safety instructor and provided with every new firearm sold. Guns and booze are a big no- no. Sounds like he had his finger where it wasn't supposed to be (on the trigger) . 99% of the time you hear about an accidental discharge where someone says "it just went off" , it's due to that.

This is I believe a former NFLer who went on to join the DEA.

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fatwabbit    93

fatwabbit
Posted

thought the whole idea of growing up was to explore these exciting possibilities of playing whatever teh hell they want... I was/am never musically talented, gave up the guitar after a month of trying, but my son loves to play the piano. Whatever he wants to do, I'll do whatever I can to make it happen.

"parental frustration" - should be used to define which parent is going to take which kid to which practice or game...

let the kids determine what they want to do...

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15yearsofhistory    0

15yearsofhistory
Posted
No surprise that it is Boulder. However, they did win state championships for three divisions of high school hockey, and went to at least regionals (in a couple cases nationals) for various tournaments and league playoffs at the u16 and u18 a and aa levels in one season.

I can never bring myself to associate BValley with that wackhole of a city.

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dcdot377    0

dcdot377
Posted

i cant see this helping anything if parents start to focus on one sport for their kids. playing other sports help with coordiantion and other mental as well as physical aspecs of any sport. all you do is opent he door for MORE crazy parents to abuse and exaust their children

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cxo    0

cxo
Posted

And you know, they're talking about putting the Panda down. That poor wild animal is going to die because the people who go see it are morons. I'm no PETA eco-terrorist but how could you feel sorry for that guy? Thankfully in that article they're now saying that the bear will be spared and douche might face charges. I also say he learned his lesson, no charges needed really, but jesus. "I just thought Panda's were cute and ate bamboo." Ugh.

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Jason Harris    31

Jason Harris
Posted

No kidding.

"We might have to put him down. Once an animal tastes human blood, he can become a danger to all of us."

"When?"

"Well....um....in case someone falls into his pen again!"

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