City kids find place on triathlon mantle

Chicago Tribune (MCT) - While most Tri-Masters campers are happy simply to finish a triathlon, another set of young Chicagoans enters races with a different goal in mind:

Winning.

Though they've been at the sport for just one year, the Extreme Jalapenos _ a team of Hispanic kids from the Southwest Side _ have dominated local events and even made some noise nationally.

"For me, I don't like a little place (in races)," said Juan Gonzalez, 38, the team's coach. "I like a big place."

Gonzalez was a competitive swimmer growing up in Guadalajara, Mexico, and did his first triathlon on the suggestion of his coach. He loved the variety of the sport, and stayed with it even after he came to the United States 10 years ago to work as a carpenter.

After his kids started swimming competitively, Gonzalez did his old coach one better: He encouraged the entire swim team at Chicago's Curie Park pool to give a triathlon a try.

He now has about 16 kids _ ages 5 to 15 _ who swim, bike and run as many as six days a week. The hard work has produced top finishes in races from Valparaiso, Ind., to Colorado Springs.

Gonzalez's son Juan Carlos, 8, has emerged as the phenom of the bunch. He won his age group at two national competitions this summer, along with the South Shore Triathlon, the McDonald's Kids Triathlon _ both held last month _ and every other race he entered

"I tell my class stories about it," he said. "Once I took a trophy from a triathlon (to school), and they were like, 'Wow.' "

Gonzalez has big dreams for his squad, and is seeking indoor training space for the winter and sponsors to help pay for travel expenses and top-notch gear that can cost thousands of dollars per child. Keith Dickson of Geneva, Ill.-based Multisport Madness, one of the nation's top youth triathlon teams, said he's impressed with his newbie colleague.

"Juan has something," Dickson said. "I see it in his eyes. . . . He doesn't know a lot about the system, but what he's gonna do is show up (and learn). The guy's relentless."

He's not heartless, though. Practice sessions are family affairs, with moms and dads sometimes joining their kids on rides and runs.

"Just this last Tuesday, I was able to run the 3 miles without stopping," said Rosa Saldivar, whose 9-year-old daughter, Alexa, is on the team. "That was a bit of a challenge for me."

Gonzalez, though, has far bigger challenges in mind. Someday, he hopes, he can help his kids take their skill and resolve to the very top of the sport.

"One guy in Olympics," he mused, "would be nice for me."

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© 2008, Chicago Tribune.