Columnist Dean Juipe: Pro sports wrestle with teens

Dean Juipe

Friday, May 4, 2001 | 11:52 a.m.

Dean Juipe's column appears Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. His boxing notebook appears Thursday. Reach him at juipe@lasvegassun.com or 259-4084.

There was a time when even the most promising teenage athlete was figuratively required to pay his or her dues.

Youngsters, no matter how exceptional their abilities, were restrained by well-meaning adults and limited to competitions with players of similar age and experience.

It was discriminatory in a sense, yet thought to be in the budding athletes' best interests.

Steadily, however, the rules have changed. And mandatory minimum ages in many professional sports have been reduced, dropped or abandoned.

Just this year, Major League Soccer tossed its bylaws aside and is now allowing boys of all ages -- which, in practical terms, means high schoolers -- to participate if they have the ability.

Its counterpart, the Women's United Soccer Association, has no set policy, which is the equivalent of saying girls of any age can become paid professionals, if, here again, they have the ability.

But no sport taps into the youth talent market like pro tennis, as is evident by the appearance of Katia Afinogenova in Las Vegas this weekend.

Ms. Afinogenova is 14 years old and ready to turn pro, although she's in a junior-level event here. Part of a mini-profile in a recent Sports Illustrated, Afinogenova is said to have unlimited potential and it's only a matter of days or weeks before she takes a stab at the Women's Tennis Association tour.

The WTA rules were modified a few years ago to a minor extent after a series of young girls -- such as Jennifer Capriati, who has since bounced back -- fell victim to "burnout" while still in their teens. Currently, girls must be at least 14 to play tour events and at least 15 to participate in a Grand Slam event.

Dozens of would-be tennis phenoms appear ready to turn pro and test themselves against players who are bigger, stronger, more mature and more experienced than themselves. The risk that they're being rushed is rarely heard as their sometimes overzealous trainers and parents try to capitalize on the kids' still-emerging talents.

There is nothing worse than a parent pushing a child prematurely into (pro) sports and then browbeating the kid or antagonizing authorities, as was the case with Damir Dokic. He proved to be such a distraction at WTA events in which his daughter, Jelena, was participating that the tour banned him for six months; that ban expired this week.

Hopefully, Ms. Afinogenova has no such burden to bear.

If you're wondering about other sports and their age restrictions, here's a brief summary: PGA tour, none; LPGA tour, must be 18 to play regularly; NBA, high school class must have graduated; WNBA, must turn 22 during calendar year of first season; MLB, must have completed high school; NFL, must be three years out of high school; NHL, must be at least 18.

One side of the argument says "What's the rush?" and suggests that teens are ill-equipped to handle the rigors of pro sports.

The other side says "Get it while you can" and dismisses any objections as biased and old-fashioned.

Leagues and associations are caught in the middle and have come to realize any policy they may formulate will not be written in stone.