It is worthwhile to study Sport Election more in depth. This concept is most likely a new one for you. Unfortunately, this is true of most Americans. After years of studying athletes, their preparations and the specific competitive events, sports scientists have concluded that most American athletes don't know how to train for their events. While agreeing with this, I must take it one step further. Many American athletes are competing in the wrong sports.

    Although revolutionary in this country, the practice of discriminate Sport Election is not new. Sports Ministry officials in East Germany created it in the late 1960's. East Germany was a country whose population barely exceeded that of the State of Massachusetts. It competed as an independent nation for the first time in the 1968 Olympics. Their results, as expected, were less than startling; winning only a handful of medals. Recognizing that their small population would always limit their success, the Sports Ministers drafted a comprehensive plan of youth Sport Election.

    East German scientists and coaches and gathered information on each Olympic sport. Outlines were then developed for the various important athletic Abilities that made it up each sport. Based on these outlines, scientists created specific ability tests and administered them to the children. Finally, after reviewing individual test results, children were placed in training programs for the Sport that most matched their specific Abilities. Their schooling would include training in all of the athletic Abilities that were important for the Sport.

    The first group of children trained under this system competed in the 1976 Olympics. The results were unquestionable. East Germany won Medals in virtually every event, including an amazing 47 Gold Medals. By comparison, the powerhouse United States team won only 37 Gold Medals.

    Unable to swallow defeat with pride, American coaches cried foul, blaming the East German's success on drug use. This was the start of another great myth in sports; that of the highly effective Iron Curtain drug effort. The truth is that the American pharmaceutical industry is the world leader on research and development of all drugs or medications, not the Communists.

    The fact was that the 1976 American team, and the rest of the world, lost fairly and squarely. Although definitely not out-manned, they were out-coached, out-trained and out-performed. Sport Election had proven itself.

    We are not advocating complete revolution here. Actually, the youth of America do have a type of Sport Election system already. The problem is that it is based on sociological factors rather than on scientific factors. A child normally ends up playing a specific sport for one or more of the following reasons: their parents played that sport;

• their parents want them to play that sport;
• the sport is popular in the area where they live;
• the sport has a tradition in their particular racial or ethnic background;
• they can identify with a particular "hero" who plays that sport.

    What we really are suggesting is to remove the sociological emphasis on Sport Election and replace it with a scientific emphasis. Rather than revolution, consider this athletic evolution.