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Parental Involvement & Sports or Extracurricular Activities: How Much Will You Do??

ladyjenna13ladyjenna13 member
edited December 2013 in Dads & Dads-to-be

There is this series that started on HBO this week called "State of Play".  The focus is on the current culture of sport in our society, and the impact it is having on children and teens as they engage in their athletic activities.  The first episode was called "Trophy Kids", and it looked at three kids and their parents as they practiced and participated in sporting events.

It was shockingly scary to see these parents yell, scream, manipulate their children to push harder and excel.  It was even more infuriating to listen to these parents justify their crazed actions.  In one example, a father of a 8-10 year old girl called her a "stupid bitch" after she mishit a fairway iron and missed the green.

Not once did these parents express love and a spirit of fun to their children.

And I started thinking about how I will be by the time my son is old enough to play sports.  I have every intention of pushing my son to be the best he can be at anything he does.  I think that is one of our core responsibilities as a parent.  I really want my son to love the sports that I did growing up.  I think he will because I am still very active, and it will be something that we can do together.  But where I start to worry is if he is really good at something, and I see a chance for him to do something with whatever gift that may be, if it happens that way.

For me, my passion was baseball.  My father recognized that in me at a very early age, and as a result I was enrolled in numerous baseball camps and summer leagues.  By high school, while I was a standout on that team, the real competition was in the private leagues that I was a part of, where those teams would travel around the country in the summertime and compete against the best.  It was like baseball AAU. My dad sacrificed time and money to help me in my dream to get a baseball scholarship to UW.  But he always made sure I was having fun first, and that I recognized the hard work required to get that far in baseball.  He never pushed me when I was trying my hardest, and he never, ever screamed and yelled at me from the sidelines.  Win or lose, I got a hug and a ruffle of my hair from him, no exception.  He only offered his review of my performance if I asked him.

Sometimes I wonder if I will be up for the challenge of taking a back seat so my children will never feel the pressure of a crazed father who acts like more of a slave-driver than a father who wants their children to enjoy being kids.  Watch the clips, let me know what you think.  Be warned, these parents are real assholes.

https://www.hbo.com/sports/state-of-play-trophy-kids#/sports/state-of-play-trophy-kids/video/peter-berg-on-trophy-kids.html/eNrjcmbO0CzLTEnNd8xLzKksyUx2zs8rSa0oUc-PSYEJBSSmp-ol5qYy5zMXsjGyMXIyMrJJJ5aW5BfkJFbalhSVpgIAXbkXOA==

 

 

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Re: Parental Involvement & Sports or Extracurricular Activities: How Much Will You Do??

  • ladyjenna13ladyjenna13 member
    edited December 2013
    MiracleBByEThat is a great lesson to teach a young man.  The idea of finishing and our obligations.  Well done!!

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  • WulfgarWulfgar member
    For me, I am going to get him into martial arts and hopefully either swimming, soccer or wrestling.  I may even allow him to play flag football.  I have a feeling that my son will be big enough that they will want him to play the line in football.  This messed up my dad's knees really bad so I am not sure about wanting him to do this.  Only time will tell.
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  • ladyjenna13ladyjenna13 member

    @Jack9

    Because my dad was that cool about sports, I always reached out to him for advice and technique questions. He never had to drag me to practice, and even when I was home I would walk around with my glove on throwing a tennis ball around.

    Soccer is a great start at a really young age.  I was playing organized soccer at the age of 5.  We were total hacks, but we learned about team and the basics of running and footwork. 

    Football is something I will let him do, but I certainly will not encourage it too much.  Baseball is where it is at for me!!

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  • ColtsdadColtsdad member
    I plan on having him play sports, at least to try them out.  If he doesn't want to play baseball after a year or two, I'm not going to force him.  I'm going to tell him to do his best, but I am in no way trying to pin my hopes on him becoming a professional athlete, even though the potential is in his genetics (great grandfather and great, great uncle on my dad's side and some cousins on my mom's) all of which were either college athletes, played semi-pro back in the day, or in one case, even made the early days of the NFL.  I will try to make it fun as it can be for him and if he wants to take it further then so be it.  He'll probably switch sports a couple of times, and the main things I want, no matter what sport he decides on are two fold 1) give it his all and 2) have fun.
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  • ladyjenna13ladyjenna13 member

     and the main things I want, no matter what sport he decides on are two fold 1) give it his all and 2) have fun.


     

    I agree with this totally.  I would add two things though.  3) Overcoming adversity and 4) Teamwork.

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