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BIG BAND, BIG BANG Jazz and swing traditions come alive with 17-piece orchestra.
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The Gazette POTOMAC | NORTH POTOMAC
DAILY UPDATES ONLINE www.gazette.net
Wednesday, July 24, 2013
25 cents
Garagiola’s exit creates opening for Democrats
BRANDON ENG Walt Whitman
Party committee to meet in September to consider hopefuls n
BY
STAFF WRITER
JOEY SHAVATT Bowie
LEXI D’ORSANEO Bowie
LINDSEY JANOSKIE Paint Branch
NICOLE WARREN James H. Blake
In the search for a college athletic scholarship, parents have endless opportunities to spend money, including youth teams, camps run by college coaches, buying top equipment, and online recruiting sites that market athletes. The trend has led to children specializing in sports at earlier ages, which has led to more serious injuries, youth giving up free time to chase their athletic dreams, and in some cases burnout. Another trend is that many top athletes now are being forced to choose between their club and high school teams.
Elite athletes sacrifice to play prep sports Most college recruiting now takes place outside of high school competition n
BY JENNIFER BEEKMAN STAFF WRITER
Thomas S. Wootton High School tennis star Titas Bera went undefeated this spring, winning his third consecutive county singles championship and the state boys doubles title. Bera, a rising senior, hasn’t lost a singles match in three years of
See ELITE, Page A-10
$5B
Nationwide spending on youth sports each year.
$2B
Amount of athletic scholarships awarded by Division I and II schools each year.
Only 2 percent of youth athletes earn scholarships that average about $11,000 n
BY
Early start can lead to burnout
C
STAFF WRITER
andy Thurman had a rough idea how much she was spending on her daughters’ athletic pursuits — between $11,000 to $14,000. She knew that a field hockey stick went for $150 to $400 and that letting her children play on the Futures team — field hockey’s version of the Amateur Athletic Union — would cost nearly $3,000. While it was happening, though, “I didn’t realize I was spending all that money on it,” said Thurman, the Montgomery Blair High School field hockey coach. She chuckles now, thinking about the expenses of youth sports — the lucrative industry it has become. Baltimore author Mark Hyman wrote a book on the topic, titled “The Most Expensive
30M
Children nationwide (18 to 5) who participate in youth sports each year.
3.5M
Children nationwide under 14 who receive medical treatment for a sports injury in a year.
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Online services change recruiting A-11
TRAVIS MEWHIRTER
Doctors see more injuries
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State Sen. Robert J. Garagiola (D-Dist. 15) of Germantown won’t officially leave his Senate seat until Sept. 1, but the process of naming his replacement is beginning to heat up. The Montgomery County Democratic Central Committee will meet on Sept. 10 to name a successor to Garagiola, and committee members already have begun interviewing potential candidates, Chairman Gabe Albornoz said. Albornoz said that while there are several unofficial candidates, only Del. Brian Feldman (D-Dist. 15) of Potomac has officially acknowledged interest in the post. Once the seat officially becomes vacant, the central committee will have 30 days to make a recommendation to the governor on who should fill the spot. Candidates have until Sept. 9 to submit a resume and letter of intent to be appointed for the Senate seat. Feldman has emerged as the front-runner, but his endorsement by the chairman and vice chairman of the District 15 Democratic Caucus in a June letter to the central commit-
See GARAGIOLA, Page A-8
Farm tours feature fruit, wine, animals n
Game in Town.” In it, he estimated that parents spend $5 billion a year on youth sports. He says that’s a low guess; it doesn’t include gas and other expenses parents pay just getting their children to practice. Thurman’s daughter, Taylor, could run up a bill of $5,000 to $7,000 a year just on field hockey. Just one event on her Futures team cost about $2,800. Add in swimming and track, and that’s another $3,000 to $4,000. That’s just one child, who competes at Oberlin College in Ohio, but is not on scholarship. “Few athletes get full rides,” Thurman said.
Students who receive either partial or full athletic scholarships.
County’s agriculture industry is highlighted this weekend BY
PEGGY MCEWAN STAFF WRITER
See SCHOLARSHIPS, Page A-11
145K
RYAN MARSHALL
70%
Children who drop out of youth sports by age 13. Reasons cited are adults, coaches and parents.
Touring farms this weekend in Montgomery County can include more than picking up some local produce. Visitors to the Heyser Farm in Silver Spring can also kick back in the farm’s orchard and enjoy a bottle of wine amid the trees. The farm, which specializes in peaches this time of year and apples in the fall, now has a winery license and tasting room, said farm manager Mike Heyser. The farm off New Hampshire Avenue works with Matt Cimino, a winemaker with Great Shoals Winery in Somerset County, to produce a number of products including hard ciders and sparkling wines. Farm tour visitors will be able to taste the wines or purchase them by the glass, bottle or case. Thirteen farms and animal facilities across Montgomery County will welcome visitors,
See FARMS, Page A-8
SOURCES: MARK HYMAN, BALTIMORE-BASED AUTHOR OF ‘THE MOST EXPENSIVE GAME IN TOWN’; NCAA; CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION; SAFE KIDS (CHILDREN’S NATIONAL MEDICAL CENTER)
NEWS
SPORTS
Montgomery County expands sales of refillable jugs of suds.
Bethesda man rises to among the best in the world at competitive stair climbing.
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