Pushed too soon?

[Jacko_G]

So now that Michelle Wie has taken the rest of the season off due to her injuries I was wondering if she has pushed too far too soon in her younger years?

An outstanding talent and player who was pushed into the limelight, "took on the men" when she was given spots in the field at 15 years old.

Has the early years taken toll?

She's had back problems and now wrist problems plus if rumours are to be believed parents that liked to "push" her. Changing of coaches etc.

Her talent was there far all to see yet she has probably failed to deliver in the grand scheme of things given her talent.

Thoughts?

 

[Papas1982]

So now that Michelle Wie has taken the rest of the season off due to her injuries I was wondering if she has pushed too far too soon in her younger years?

An outstanding talent and player who was pushed into the limelight, "took on the men" when she was given spots in the field at 15 years old.

Has the early years taken toll?

She's had back problems and now wrist problems plus if rumours are to be believed parents that liked to "push" her. Changing of coaches etc.

Her talent was there far all to see yet she has probably failed to deliver in the grand scheme of things given her talent.

Thoughts?

I think in numerous sports child prodigies often fall away before we ever really get to hear of them.

Imo, she had far too much too soon, spots given to her purely as a pr exercise and maybe she didn't have the same drive? She seems to be weak mentally compared to others. Maybe she did as well as she was ever going to?

 

[Deleted Member 1156]

Yep, too much too soon. Could have dominated for years if left to progress naturally I feel.

 

[upsidedown]

YUp pretty much so, very good post from Maureen Madill on this a couple of days ago
http://www.madillgolf.com/

 

[clubchamp98]

Pushy parents are a pain .
Her body was not ready for the things she did to it.
Seen many young footballers go the same bodies not fully formed but put through to much physically.
This could be why Tiger has had a lot of trouble.
But money is a big draw for the parents.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Her issues as a child with pushy parents are well documented and she has struggled throughout trying to play with the men,trying to live up to the hype surrounding her and her body has simply had enough. Whether she'll take enough time off and be able to get her body fixed remains to be seen. She had immense talent but sadly I feel many golfers (especially from Asia) have now moved past her and she'll struggle to get back to the very top of the game again, certainly in majors

 

[User20204]

I suspect the pushing has came mainly from Nike, she was their poster girl as was Tiger (poster boy obviously) and they seem to me a very pushy company particularly given she was female and the next great thing, they must've been loving it.

 

[Bunkermagnet]

Way too much too soon.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

I suspect the pushing has came mainly from Nike, she was their poster girl as was Tiger (poster boy obviously) and they seem to me a very pushy company particularly given she was female and the next great thing, they must've been loving it.

I thought her parents were the initial catalyst, forcing her to play against boys in her age group and her dad coaching her. I think all Nike did was to take her image (young, attractive and Asian-American so ticking a lot of boxes) and her potential as a great champion to dominate a la Woods. Sadly her career has been a real mix of highs and lows with 5 LPGS wins including a major and so many controversies and injuries.

 

[Dibby]

I thought her parents were the initial catalyst, forcing her to play against boys in her age group and her dad coaching her. I think all Nike did was to take her image (young, attractive and Asian-American so ticking a lot of boxes) and her potential as a great champion to dominate a la Woods. Sadly her career has been a real mix of highs and lows with 5 LPGS wins including a major and so many controversies and injuries.

Remember she comes from Hawaii (the whole island groups population is about 1.5million, with Oahu (her island) being about 900k), so the depth of field in kids golf is not going to be as big as on the mainland US, and travel costs to go to junior tournaments would be high, not to mention the flight time, so playing against the boys, and adults would have more likely to be to give her challenge that she otherwise would not have got.

Her injuries and problems, no one will ever know, likely it's a combination of many things, some have been mentioned, but a couple that have been overlooked are:

Genetics - especially as she is very tall for a female, being at extremes of normal human ranges generally carries more risk of injury.
There is also the possibility she is not as talented as people think - that sounds wrong, but with childhood prodigies, often they are not better than others, they just reach the peak sooner, eventually, others catch up, and even surpass if their personal peak is higher.

 

[Lord Tyrion]

I caught the news last night and they were raving about the latest female tennis prodigy. 15yrs old, American, sponsors lining up around the block. I thought of this thread, thought of the many others who have gone before and felt sorry for her more than feeling elated. Perhaps that is the parent in me. I wish her luck but I wish her well even more.

 

[Slab]

Remember she comes from Hawaii (the whole island groups population is about 1.5million, with Oahu (her island) being about 900k), so the depth of field in kids golf is not going to be as big as on the mainland US, and travel costs to go to junior tournaments would be high, not to mention the flight time, so playing against the boys, and adults would have more likely to be to give her challenge that she otherwise would not have got.

Her injuries and problems, no one will ever know, likely it's a combination of many things, some have been mentioned, but a couple that have been overlooked are:

Genetics - especially as she is very tall for a female, being at extremes of normal human ranges generally carries more risk of injury.
There is also the possibility she is not as talented as people think - that sounds wrong, but with childhood prodigies, often they are not better than others, they just reach the peak sooner, eventually, others catch up, and even surpass if their personal peak is higher.

To your last sentence. I saw a reference to something like this (weirdly I think it was from gwyneth paltrow)

Sometimes people who have success very early on can have too many of the normal obstacles removed from their future path so that they don’t realise their full potential or even go backwards because they’ve kinda missed out on some of the important accomplishments in overcoming them

I wonder if getting juicy sponsorship deal etc and the support/invites etc that comes with it can have the same effect to a young player

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

I caught the news last night and they were raving about the latest female tennis prodigy. 15yrs old, American, sponsors lining up around the block. I thought of this thread, thought of the many others who have gone before and felt sorry for her more than feeling elated. Perhaps that is the parent in me. I wish her luck but I wish her well even more.

Was thinking that also - parents up and fist pumping every point...

Like you - I wish her well - and if success and longevity come her way then all to the good (though I suspect that the £111,000 now guaranteed from Wimbledon and £1m estimate for the season would be good enough for most of )

 

[Wolf]

This is actually quite an interesting thread and topic.

In the case of Wie like so many other young prodigies it's no surprise they either burn out physically or mentally early. Partly could be because pressures from themselves, their own success that then has added pressure from outsiders in the arena such as fans and a need to live upto the hype, from parents that push to hard or lack of real interest.

It happens in all sports Michael Owen a teen sensation, absolutely one of the best then by 27/28 he's burnt out and barely scores. Tiger Woods in golfing terms absolutely a sensation changes the game but we all know mentally he was elsewhere for years with his off course activities l, difference with him before the injuries he still managed to win. But had his years in the wilderness because of probably missing out so much on life as a kid.

Martina Hingis what a tennis player she was as a teen, picked up a few injuries and fell off the face in the singles for a while.

Same with Wie we won't ever know what the real causes are but it could be a case of child prodigy that once became an adult realised that being the best kid doesn't equate to being the best as an adult. Others simply get better as they get older whereas she stood still. I do think it was to much to soon indeed and it's really sad to see.

 

[Grant85]

So now that Michelle Wie has taken the rest of the season off due to her injuries I was wondering if she has pushed too far too soon in her younger years?

An outstanding talent and player who was pushed into the limelight, "took on the men" when she was given spots in the field at 15 years old.

Has the early years taken toll?

She's had back problems and now wrist problems plus if rumours are to be believed parents that liked to "push" her. Changing of coaches etc.

Her talent was there far all to see yet she has probably failed to deliver in the grand scheme of things given her talent.

Thoughts?

I think it's tough to say that that is the case or not.

It seems that physically, females reach maturity much earlier - hence why we will routinely see females being very competitive in their early to mid teens - there's been a load of Tennis Champions, Swimmers etc at 15 or even younger. And I think plenty of golfers who have been on tour and earning a living well before turning 20.

Ultimately some people are just plagued with injury issues, some people manage these very well and others don't whether it's their training routine or they just don't have as robust a body.

I've heard a very good case for female golfers having a much different career than males - with players playing full time in their late teens and retiring or taking a break in their 30s. Karen Stupples made a good argument that the Females 'seniors' events should start more around 40, rather than 50 as very few female golfers play on tour beyond mid 40s and plenty will pack it in well before.

 

[Dan2501]

Changed too much too quickly, lost a lot of her natural ability when she moved to Leadbetter (seems pretty common) and the body just hasn't held up. Shame for her as she really was a prodigious talent that could keep up with the men in her younger years, should have been the next Annika but just didn't happen. The car accident that caused all her wrist injuries really didn't help either, I just hope she takes the time off she needs this time, gets healthy and comes back strong. The NLU pod with Michelle is well worth a listen, she's got a great story.

 

[Jacko_G]

I think it's tough to say that that is the case or not.

It seems that physically, females reach maturity much earlier - hence why we will routinely see females being very competitive in their early to mid teens - there's been a load of Tennis Champions, Swimmers etc at 15 or even younger. And I think plenty of golfers who have been on tour and earning a living well before turning 20.

Ultimately some people are just plagued with injury issues, some people manage these very well and others don't whether it's their training routine or they just don't have as robust a body.

I've heard a very good case for female golfers having a much different career than males - with players playing full time in their late teens and retiring or taking a break in their 30s. Karen Stupples made a good argument that the Females 'seniors' events should start more around 40, rather than 50 as very few female golfers play on tour beyond mid 40s and plenty will pack it in well before.

I would suggest that a lot of ill, possibly well meaning advice has had a huge impact on her career and subsequent health.

Regards to females "packing it in" I'd suggest a lot of that has to do with maternal instincts and biological clocks ticking should they wish to have a family. Also in Europe the ladies tour is on its knees which doesn't help. However that is all a sideshow from the issues surrounding Wie.

 

[Wolf]

I would suggest that a lot of ill, possibly well meaning advice has had a huge impact on her career and subsequent health.

Regards to females "packing it in" I'd suggest a lot of that has to do with maternal instincts and biological clocks ticking should they wish to have a family. Also in Europe the ladies tour is on its knees which doesn't help. However that is all a sideshow from the issues surrounding Wie.

I think is bang on the money.

Listened to a really good Podcast with Annika Sorenstam, one of my golfing idols as a kid. She is arguably the greatest female of all time and she said it came time to become a mother and that achieving anything else was irrelevant. Now she plays something like 8 rounds of golf a year and has never been happier.

 

[Dibby]

To your last sentence. I saw a reference to something like this (weirdly I think it was from gwyneth paltrow)

Sometimes people who have success very early on can have too many of the normal obstacles removed from their future path so that they don’t realise their full potential or even go backwards because they’ve kinda missed out on some of the important accomplishments in overcoming them

I wonder if getting juicy sponsorship deal etc and the support/invites etc that comes with it can have the same effect to a young player

Whilst what you say is a possibility, there is the even simpler possibility that this is her full potential. It gets overlooked both in athletics and academics, but the gradient of progress and level of peak attainment don't have to be correlated.

If we apply the above to other physical human traits it becomes more apparent. In a class of kids, you might have one that hits puberty and is 6' tall at 13 years old, no one would extrapolate that and assume the kid would be 8' by adulthood, yet when a 12 year old gets ahead in academics we assume they will be a genius and the same for athletic ability.

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

Interesting indeed as my club's young (she's only just turned 15) girl 'star' won the Surrey Schools Girls Championship last weekend for 2nd year running and has been selected for a mixed team of four players to represent England in the European Young Masters, which will be played in the Czech Republic at the end of July. She will push on as she is utterly dedicated - besides - her wee sister is better than her at her wee sisters age. The parents are very supportive (obs) but never come across as mega pushy. We watch and wait...