All of Tim's sparring friends are bragging about cutting weight for a major tournament coming up soon and they will be having to fight weak with all the cutting they are having to do. Tim's over here going from 51kg when he was still fighting to 58.4kg now that he's doing weightlifting and he is absolutely loving being strong and not cutting anymore...LOL!!
While he's still supportive of his friends who are still fighting he now knows just how weak he really was now that he's at a healthy weight and doing weightlifting training and Meets.
Being an athlete is hard but it's even harder in sports where you are forced to cut weight drastically just so you can be more competitive with athletes who are closer to your body size to make it more fair for you as an athlete. Being in it to win it is the end game after all.
After all that Tim has been through since he was 8 years old as an athlete my heart goes out to all athletes having to cut weight just to be more competitive in their sport. There are so many sports where cutting happens a ton just so it gives the athlete a fighting chance at bringing home a medal in their sport. It sucks but it's what is having to be done in some sports.
I'm so glad Tim isn't in that boat anymore. With weightlifting he's found the freedom to grow and be strong and he absolutely loves it. Our son is a totally different person now that he isn't having to cut so much. He is enjoying every part of his life, even school, because he's not doing things hungry and miserable. Man what a difference being able to eat has made in him!!! Having a happy kid is so HUGE!!! I can't express enough how HUGE that having him happy, really happy, means in the grand scheme of things. Make no mistake about it...Nothing, and I mean NOTHING, is worth the cost of your kid(s) happiness!!!
The picture below is from Tim's last Meet PR that he did in January. It is almost double the weight of what most of his old teammates from sparring weighs. He's lifting in the 61kg and under youth division in USA Weightlifting. He was having to stay in the 51kg weight division when he was fighting. Look up the conversion to pounds on google and you can see how unhealthy that weight is for a growing kid.
There are senior fighters (18 year old) weighing 48kg at 5'4" tall or taller. There are charts online that will show you just how unhealthy that really is. Don't believe me do the research for yourself like I did. It will shock you just as much as it did me.
Tim's health and happiness is what is most important to his dad and I. We won't be sacrificing his health and happiness on the alter of sports ever again. That I can promise you. Every parent should feel this way but way too many of them are uneducated and just don't realize the harm they are doing to their child's body by allowing them to drastically cut in order to be competitive in their sport. The coaches know though but most don't say anything to the child or parents about it. I can say that because I know from first hand experience with many many coaches that Tim had while doing sparring.
Weightlifting has been a HUGE WIN for Tim! It's made all the difference in his young life in the short time that he's been doing the sport. He is still able to chase his dreams as an athlete but in a much happier and healthier way. It doesn't have to be all or nothing in the sport your child is doing. If you see that it is not healthy for them find another sport they can do to go after their dreams that will keep them healthy. Tim spent from the age of 8 until 15 sparring and sacrificing his health and happiness on the alter of his dreams as an athlete but he found out quickly that it doesn't have to be that way when he switched to weightlifting in August 2023 at age 15. Your dream doesn't have to die just because you have switched sports. He has also found out quickly that he can get scholarships for college, if he chooses to go, and also be able to continue weightlifting for the college he chooses to attend. With sparring there was never going to be a scholarship because most colleges don't have a sparring program.
If there was any advice that I would give to a parent after all that we have been through is make time to do the extra research if you have a kid that's an athlete. Make sure that what they are wanting to do in their sport won't be harmful to their bodies down the road or cause long term health issues down the road. My husband and I wish we had done our research a whole lot sooner than we did. We would have helped our son make a change back when he was 8-9 years old if we had.
A child's growing years are very important and it's important that they grow in a healthy/happy way that allows them to continue to grow. Doing the yo-yo act of up and down drops with weight to meet a weight division is not healthy for a growing kid!!! It can cause a host of health issues that can end up being long term health issues if not addressed early. Don't take my word for it though. Do your own research and find the truth for yourself as we did.
We love our healthy/happy kid so very much. He has turned into an amazing young man. He has found his voice and it's not his dad's or my voice but it's his, all his!!! He knows exactly what he wants and he's going after it in a healthy/happy way and his dad and I are supporting him 100%!!! After all, it's his life and he's the one that has got to live it and not us living it for him. I can't wait to see all that God has in store for him as he continues to grow into a man!!!
