by Mary Jimenez

This feature is a continuation of the River Cities Triathlon coverage in the September 2003 issue of Runner Triathlete News. To get all the details on one of this region's biggest races, pick up a copy of the September issue of Runner Triathlete News. Subscribe to RTN today!

Unlike most 14-year-old's in America thinking ahead to a new set of wheels; Sam Schildgen of Colleville, Texas already got his - a pair of Zipp wheels. With his Zipp 909 on the back of his new Javelin triathlon bike built up with high-end components, young Sam's newest bike differs in price from his first bike at the age of 7 by about $4,000. Add trips across the country and the price tag on Sam's sport is big ticket.

If you are a parent with a talented athlete just how serious do you take his or her desire and at what age or when do you know that talent is exceptional? It's a question I would guess thousands of parents deal with. I'm a swim coach and a reporter and I've seen a lot of fast, incredible young athletes, but even among the fast there seems to be an element that separates the ones that will stay with their sport and the ones that stray before they meet with their potential.

It's a determination and tenacity that doesn't allow setbacks or lets a bad race make them fold. Young talent has a maturity about it, even on an immature adolescent. It's a natural intuition and willingness to take on the slow building process of a sport.

Schildgen entered his first triathlon at the age of 7.

"My father use to do triathlons and the first TriKid triathlon I entered I was hooked," Schildgen said in a phone interview from Maine, where he was racing his next event.

Schildgen was involved in year-around swimming until the age of 10, then decided his new multi-sport was too demanding for both. He currently swims 1-2 times a week, bikes 100+ miles and runs about 25 miles a week.

Another characteristic of the real deal is having a plan. Schildgen has 2012 marked and a plan for every year in between.

"Next year I will enter the 16-19 year old championships. I'm here this year (Maine) doing the sprint distance," Schildgen said. "My plan is to make the world team then after three years go pro and start collecting ITU points. Then I'd like to be among the Olympians in 2012."

Sure lots of kids dream of being in the Olympics, but it's more than a dream when an athlete has talent and is mapping a course to get there.

Children who are self-driven by a sport or activity, whatever it may be should be neutered to help meet that goal. Sometimes parents mistake talent as having the winning edge or drive, but talent among thousands of others with talent can only take an athlete so far. A champion must also have that inward desire and tenacity that strives for excellence.

Schildgen gave me another hint at his exceptional character - he talked. Most parents know and every writer knows, it's not always easy to get a teenager to answer with more than three words in a sentence. Schildgen's maturity about his sport was evident.

"All the training is tough sometimes, but I just keep thinking about all the good that will come of it," he said. "I still have a ways to go. There is a lot of strong competition in the United States."

It's Schildgen's parents that take him to race the talent, who buy the bikes, who pay for meals and I guess if I was in their shoes, I'd probably do the same. When you have an exceptional kid, you do the exceptional things he or she may need.