3 for the future

Ebony, May, 1995

PUSHING the meaning of the word "precocious" to an entirely new level, three teenage Black athletes are astounding the sports world with record-breaking feats that put them in a class all by themselves. The three who despite their youth are already casting enormous shadows toward the future are 18-year-old golf sensation Eldrick (Tiger) Woods, 14-year-old tennis ace Venus Williams and 18-year-old gymnastic phenomenon Dominique Dawes. What makes the achievement of these youngsters even more remarkable is the fact that they are setting precedents in sports that--unlike basketball, football and baseball--have done little to encourage the participation of Blacks. Undaunted by their pioneering role in what are still largely considered "White folks' sports," they are demolishing records and stereotypes with unbelieveable dedication, determination, grace and skill. Despite their extraordinary athletic prowess, they are far from being one-track-minded jocks with no interests other than their sport. Although they must spend many grueling hours competing and perfecting their athletic craft, all three are honor students and as dedicated to earning college degrees as to winning championships.

ELDRICK (TIGER) WOODS

LAST summer, at age 18, Eldrick (Tiger) Woods became the youngest U.S. Amateur champion in the history of the sport. In doing so, he beat golf legend Jack Nicklaus by one year. A freshman at Stanford University which recruited him with a full scholarship, Tiger, as he prefers to be called, has been referred to by veterans of golf as "potentially the most important player to enter the game in 50 years."

To keep himself focused, he keeps comparing his own golf accomplishments with those of Nicklaus from the time the veteran golfer was 10 years old. Woods holds a remarkable edge. He broke 80 and 70 before Nicklaus, who never went beyond the semifinals in four attempts at the Junior Amateur title. In a historic first, Woods has won the Junior Amateur championship three times and on his first try. In addition, Woods and his teammates beat Britain-Ireland to win the World Amateur golf title in La Boulie, France, last year, ending five consecutive years of second-place finishes for the United States.

The lanky, 6-foot-2, 150-pound youth is no stranger to celebrity. At age three he was thrust into the national limelight when he competed in a putting contest with Bob Hope on The Mike Douglas Show, and won. He literally picked up the game as a toddler by watching from a high chair as his father, Earl Woods, a former Army lieutenant colonel, hit golf balls into a net in his garage.

Not afflicted with false modesty, Tiger has said that he wants to become the Michael Jordan of golf. "I'd like to be the best ever," he says. Most experts feel that if anyone can pull it off, it'll be Eldrick (Tiger) Woods.

VENUS WILLIAMS

VENUS Williams of Lynnwood, Calif., drew worldwide media attention last October when she made her professional tennis debut at age 14 during the Bank of the West Classic in Oakland, Calif. The teenager, who is noted for playing like a veteran, handily defeated 25-year-old Shaun Stafford 6-3, 6-4. She barely squeaked by a new provision by the women's tennis circuit --intended to prevent early burnout of young players--that bars players from turning pro before the age of 15. Before turning pro, Williams won virtually every junior event she entered. Her father, Richard Williams, exposed each of his five daughters (ages 22 to 13) to tennis when they were four years old, but only his two youngest, Venus and Serena, fell in love with the game. Today, Serena is considered another prospect for future tennis fame.

Initially, Venus' father, who has guided his daughter's tennis career, was opposed to her turning pro at such an early age. "If I have my way, Venus won't turn pro until she is 18 or 19, maybe 20," he said two years ago. But it was Venus who had her way. "I opposed her decision," says Williams, "but she went on and made that decision in spite of what I might have said to the media. I admire her for standing up for what she believes." Likewise her mother, Brandee Williams, tried to talk Venus out of turning pro so early, but says her daughter "kept bugging" until she gave in. "I'm not that worried about it now," says her mother. "I can't control her destiny. It's up to her."

Venus, who practices between four and six hours a day to keep her competitive edge, has expressed interest in becoming an archaeologist in the event her tennis career should fizzle. People who know the determined youngster feel there isn't a chance that it will come to this any time soon.

DOMINIQUE DAWES

AT age 18, Dominique Dawes of Gaithersburg, Md., became the first gymnast since 1969 to win each event in the National Gymnastics Championships in Nashville, Tenn., last August when she captured four gold medals in addition to the national champion title. The fourth-ranked gymnast in the world and a bronze medal winner at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, Spain, she also helped her U.S. women's gymnastics team to a silver medal at the World Team Championships last December in Dortmund, Germany.