The other day I watched a so-called viral video of parents beating the hell out of each other at a youth baseball game. Let me be more clear about this: the players in the actual game were 7 yr olds. Still the level of stress and how much at stake was so great that grown men came to blows.
This stuff matters to people. I argue that it should not matter so much. I argue that from the position of a failed collegiate athlete who is knowingly trying to put his kids in a position where they can succeed where he did not. Yeah, 3rd person happened right there, so we are going to move on…
Seriously though, this stuff has gotten out of hand. I was supposed to be driving my kids to California this morning so they can play in a youth all star game. I was going to stay in cali for the entire week (at crazy cost) so they could play in a so-called national championship. I didn’t do that and I have not been on the practice grind for a while now and I must admit it feels odd. It feels both empty and satisfying. It feels like I’m watching my kids fall behind all of these other athletes working so much harder than them with their private training. How do I know? I see it on Instagram. All the kids have pages and they post about all kinds of events they are doing. So, why aren’t we? Simply put, I’m not going to hand my life over to sports.
I get that there is a period between August and November where every Saturday is about football. In that same period there are school sports a plenty and, for all intents and purposes, I am spending 4 nights a week involved in sports for at least 2 hrs a night. That type of thing drives a wedge deep into my relationship and it sucks that it does. Still, I am not on the end of the spectrum (and won’t be) of having it dominate my entire existence.
I’m going to be about sports for a few months. I’m going to be involved as a dad and likely a coach for a few months. I am no longer going to make it a year round thing because I see what it is for everyone in that grind and I will not make that commitment.
Does that mean my kids get left behind? I doubt it. Athleticism is what it is and they will find an opportunity to express that. However, if that is all there is for these boys and that is all there is for me, then we are doing ourselves a great disservice, because that is not all we choose to be.