When talking with a group of coaches today they tried to tell me how bad the game of basketball is, and how bad parents and athletes are. Why? Because the parents and the kids all think they are going to college on a full ride and/or become professional athletes earning the big bucks. I said that is really not true. You can’t paint the game all bad because of the few loud-mouthed parents. The vast majority of parents want their kids to get some exercise and learn life skills .
Youth sports is a 5 billion dollar industry. I knew from day one that I did not birth a professional athlete. Yet, I’ve spent thousands on training and fees for them to participate. I would do it over and over again because the skills I wanted them to learn in real life could be developed and experienced on the youth playing fields.
When you sign your kid up for dance or to play the piano, do you have the same expectations? Do you know how many parents sit through bad recitals ? They want their child to learn something new and be disciplined. They want them to learn to be uncomfortable, to get out of their comfort zone. They want them to stick with something, to persevere. They want to find a healthy avenue so those skills will be taught prior to becoming an adult. This is what’s called good parenting.
The more you expand and introduce your child to positive and even difficult people, the more prepared they will be to respond when they meet the assholes as well as the good people throughout their lives.
Strictly From The Heart 