Contract for Juniors

[Mike Scott]

Hi Andrew
I agree the balance must be right but what we have found is that the more time is spent training the better his time management has become and the better he is at getting homework done. I do think that juniors respond positively to training regimes that impose structure and value on what they do and learn.

Kids do have a lot of free time - though once training does start Jer will be doing little else than sleep, eat, train, eat, school, eat, homework, eat, train, eat, sleep...
(plus a load of facebook)

[Alan Tate]

I think with the right balance something like this is a good idea. But we should be careful that we don't drive talent away by demanding too much of their time to train. It's certainly fair to expect some kind of commitment from those selected to represent Scotland, but we ought to be very mindful that the juniors will have other important things to do with their time too - such as school work and whatnot.

Sounds like the path to mediocrity if you ask me.

[Andrew McHarg]

I think with the right balance something like this is a good idea. But we should be careful that we don't drive talent away by demanding too much of their time to train. It's certainly fair to expect some kind of commitment from those selected to represent Scotland, but we ought to be very mindful that the juniors will have other important things to do with their time too - such as school work and whatnot.

Sounds like the path to mediocrity if you ask me.

Ultimately there is more to Chess for the vast majority of kids than simply being good at it. Even those who are selected to represent their country will never make a living from Chess, so the priorities need to be correct and balanced.

[Andrew McHarg]

I agree the balance must be right but what we have found is that the more time is spent training the better his time management has become and the better he is at getting homework done. I do think that juniors respond positively to training regimes that impose structure and value on what they do and learn.

I agree Mike. It's funny you should say that; if you want something done then ask a busy person to do it - it works.

Anyway, it sounds like Jeremy is taking the swimming pretty seriously, good luck to him with that!

[Mike Scott]

Ultimately there is more to Chess for the vast majority of kids than simply being good at it

Yes but the vast majority of the kids are not going to go and play international chess. Indeed I think in this respect swimming is the reverse of chess and suffers for it. You either train very hard and aim for the top or you don't swim. And once you turn 18 most give up.

Actually I think the better you are at something the more you enjoy it - and not just because you can beat more old guys but because you get pleasure out of doing something well. Also the shared experience of the hard work creates friendships that often cross the usual barriers of age, sex and class and which I suspect will last a lot longer than those forged more casually.

[Alan Tate]

I imagine swimming is a lot more popular and competitive than chess, meaning it is harder to 'make it'. At least they try though. Also, quitting at 18 seems like an achievement when you consider the fact that so many children quit chess when they reach high school.

It has never been easier to study chess, with everything available online at the touch of a button. And let's not kids ourselves, school is not THAT time consuming...

Anyway this is all by the by... chess is to geeky to be popular at school and who wants to be good at something like that?

[Andrew McHarg]

Anyway this is all by the by... chess is to geeky to be popular at school and who wants to be good at something like that?

Something that I believe Carlsen is changing. =)