Feature: As time goes by

Joseph Boo

With their free time, most kids ride around their neighborhoods on

skateboards or “shredders.” With Carlo Valdes, he’s usually in training.

Whether shooting a basketball, throwing a football, or going to the

batting cage, Carlo is often doing one of these activities. Whatever

month it is on the calendar, the odds are that the 10-year-old from Newport Beach is involved in some athletic competition.

“Sometimes, I just like being a kid,” he said. “But I also like to be

busy. And last year, I was busy.”

Baseball and track conflicted for Carlo last summer. Right after

baseball practice, Carlo would immediately go to practice with his track

club, Irvine Cougars. When fall and winter rolled around, the soon-to-be

fifth-grader at Mariners Christian Elementary School would have to juggle

football and basketball.

Not only is Carlo still juggling all these sports, but he’s doing it

well. He is the quarterback for the Junior All-American football team and

a pitcher on the Newport Beach Little League All-Star baseball squad. But

it is in track and field where he made the biggest noise.

On April 15, Carlo tied the then-United States Track and Field’s boys

bantam division record for the 100-meter dash with a 12.73 at a meet in

Chino. It has since been surpassed by .01 seconds.

His then-national record was the first of many accomplishments in a

stellar year where four other meet records fell by the wayside.

Carlo capped off the 2000 season with two titles at the USATF’s

National Youth Athletic Championships at Decatur, Ill. on July 9 where he

won national titles in the 100 and 200 runs.

Carlo is just one member of a fast family. His father, Arthur, ran

track and played football at Compton High, and he earned a football

scholarship to Michigan State. His mother, Wendy, ran track at Arcadia in

the same events Carlo competes in. And his sister, Vanessa, is planning

to go out for Corona del Mar’s track program as a freshman next year.

Carlo grew up playing baseball initially, but he started running

track, as well as organized football and basketball, three years ago.”One

of his teachers said he runs pretty fast, so we took him to an all-comers

track meet at Newport Harbor,” Arthur said. “He ended up breaking the

10-year-old age group record as an eight-year-old. We then took him to an

all-comers meet in Long Beach, and he was beating kids by 10- to 50

yards.”

Carlo’s performance the Newport Harbor Invitational in 1988 caught the

eye of race officials and coaches. He soon found himself under the

tutelage of Charles Lee and Ron Simon of the Irvine Cougars, and they

showed Carlo how to harness his speed effectively.

“My coaches were probably the biggest influence,” Carlo said. “They

drove me pretty hard.”

While he was pushed, Carlo was more than willing to put in the hard

work. Carlo would usually stretch out and warm up by the time his club

coaches arrived for practice.

He has applied his drives to other areas as well. His dad said that

Carlo would start homework the minute he comes home from school and

finish by 4:30 p.m. On most nights he shoots at the basket set up on his

driveway. And Carlo usually takes advantage of his vast backyard to throw

a football at various targets.

Although he has two national championships in track, football is his

favorite sport. In Carlo’s first year as the quarterback of the Junior

All-American team, he rushed for over 3,000 yards and 31 touchdowns,

according to his father. He excelled in football for the same reason he

did at track, his speed.

“Once he got past the line of scrimmage,” Arthur said. “He was just

gone. Nobody could catch him.”

Not surprisingly, the few free time Carlo has outside school and

sports is spent on competitive activities. Just on a more leisurely

level.

“I really like to golf and bowl,” he said. “And I like to play video

games.”

Despite his love of contests, it’s not the competition that brings

Carlo to all these sports. It’s the sport itself.

“I’m just trying my hardest,” Carlo said. “It doesn’t really matter if

I win or not, I just want to turn in one of my best efforts.”