Ellie talks to her competitors and other kids just like any other kid.
Actually, no she doesn't. Last year when Ellie Shea was on the Foot Locker Northeast team, one of the the Northeast girls told me that Ellie Shea kept to herself and didn't talk much to the other Northeast girls.
Which is her right to keep mostly to herself if she wants to. But she isn't "just like any other kid."
My comments earlier questioning why kids run for this club instead of their high schools was in regards to everyone else by Shea. Her talent justifies not running for her high school. Everyone else on that club team and many like it in the area, it doesn't make any sense to me, except for the perhaps the opportunity to train on an indoor track more often in the winter. I'm still not sure if their talent warrants giving up a fun part of the high school experience, considering many many many faster than them are running for their high school. They literally have 2:15/5:15/11:00 boys on their roster. Running those times could make being on a high school team a lot of fun (in MA at least). I don't see how these clubs offer great opportunities that are worth giving up that fun, especially looking at some of the athletes progression. None of it is out of the ordinary (except for Shea's talent).
Are you sure about this? Despite my questioning of aspects of her current arrangement, I find it hard to believe that Emerging Elites staff would berate or directly mistreat their athletes. From what I know, most of the kids (I think including Shea) have pretty well-connected parents who wouldn't stand for that.
Never thought my daughter would beat Shea in high school. Nothing is a given in this sport.
I heard a few people saying that on Saturday about their daughter beating Leachman at NXN or beating Shea at Foot Locker. That's why they run the races. You never know what can happen.
