Over the last few weeks I’ve been giving serious thought to the ‘whys’ behind my continuing to put my kids in youth sports. I could be saving a lot of money. I could be creating a lifestyle where they have very different goals and are acculturated to very different interests. Instead we live a culture of sports and games and above all, leisure. But is is really leisure or is it preparation for the next level? Why are we doing this? Where do I think this is going to top out?
My eldest is a freshman in high school and playing freshman football. He is on the team, at practice, but has not seen the field since the first game. Even that action was purely mop up duty–two snaps at WR on obvious run downs. He is not a part of the game plan or anything. He is also not interested in coming back next year. That is my fault. I have not cultivated a culture in which my kids are used to sitting behind other players, working but not playing. They’ve been great atheletes their entire lives–at the level and in the grouping they play. Now, in his first exposure to a 6A level system, he is ready to call it quits. He’s acting like I did in college and it is killing me. It is making me think long and hard about what I am doing and what it is I am conditioning my kids to do.
I want them to be atheletes. I want them to use their physical skills to give them that financial advantage in life. I need to show them the reality of that path and remind them that if they want that–if they think they have the ability to get there–then there is going to be hard work and sacrifice alongside that fun. Maybe you don’t play so much. Maybe you have a lot to prove in practice. Above all else, you need to continue to find ways to get better and not presume you are already on top.