Kyle White poses with an assortment of sports equipment at Creeks Bend Golf Club in Hixson. White excels in baseball, football, wrestling, basketball and soccer. He is also training for the junior golf tour this summer.
Staff Photo by Jenna Walker/Chattanooga Times Free PressABOUT HIM
• Name: Kyle White.• Age: 7.• School: First-grader at Big Ridge Elementary.• Favorite/least favorite sport: Football/baseball.• Favorite athletes: Mark Ingram Jr. and John Cena.• Favorite book: "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie" by Laura Numeroff.• Favorite TV show: "SpongeBob SquarePants."CLAIM TO FAMEKyle White, 7, was named Most Valuable Player for his football team, The Colts, which was undefeated in the regular season of the Middle Valley Youth Association last year. While competing for the Hixson Lynx wrestling team last season, he also received several awards, including Best Match, Best Athlete and Most Improved Wrestler. In the past, he has also played on MVYA's all-stars baseball team and received MVP distinction in MVYA soccer.TALENT SHOWDo you know a child age 13 or younger with a precocious talent in academics, athletics or the arts? The Times Free Press is searching for children to feature in "Talent Show," which appears in the Life section on Tuesdays. To nominate a child as a possible subject of a future feature article, email staff writer Casey Phillips at cphillips@timesfreepress.com or call him at 423-757-6205.
There may be a sport that Kyle White isn't good at, but if so, he hasn't found it yet.
Since he was named his soccer team's Most Valuable Player at age 4, Kyle, now 7, has distinguished himself as an athlete in nearly every sport he has pursued.
This winter, his wrestling team, The Hixson Lynx, named him Most Improved Wrestler and Best Athlete. Last fall, he received MVP honors on his football team, The Colts, which was undefeated in the Middle Valley Youth Association's regular season. The one season he competed in MVYA baseball, he made the all-star team.
Although Kyle cites his overflowing trophy shelf as one of his proudest accomplishments, he said he would have just as much fun, even without the recognition.
"I like them just for the sports," he said.
Kyle's father, Houston White, is the head football coach at Hixson High School. Although both he and Kyle's mother, Jenn White, participated in sports when they were younger, they said they are struck by Kyle's ability to focus on the game.
"The pressure doesn't get to him," Mrs. White said. "It just blows my mind the way he has that focus. When he was wrestling, other kids would be jumping around, and he would be sitting there studying the other kids."
Kyle is competitive, but since he began playing, his parents said, they have tried to teach him that effort, not winning, is what is important.
"He doesn't like to lose, but we really push on him that it's going to happen, and it's OK if you lose, as long as you did your best," Mr. White said.
Last fall, Kyle began pursuing a new sport, golf, with his father. When he first went to the driving range, Mr. White said he wasn't expecting much, but after seeing how naturally Kyle took to a game even adults sometimes find frustratingly difficult, Mr. White began working to prepare him for the Toyota Tennessee Golf Association Junior Tour this spring.
"I was so worried that he would hit a few ground balls or miss a couple times and get mad, [but] it's been the opposite," he said. "He will focus until he'll hit a good one. Even more than his talent, I was impressed with his mentality."
That mentality is just as important as natural ability, said Curtis Fletcher, who served as Kyle's head coach when he wrestled this winter.
Watching Kyle come into last season as a novice and leave as one of the top-ranked wrestlers in his regional weight class is indicative of his spirit and resolve, Fletcher said.
"He's a disciplined kid," he said. "I knew he participated in other sports, but the thing is, he just doesn't stop. He gives it his best in all sports until he becomes the best at all sports."
Contact Casey Phillips at cphillips@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6205.