Barkley and Beckham are working out in Arizona. They are also taking time out to visit the kids. OBJ in particular has been doing photo ops with the youth teams associated with his agent. Those teams, the Elite 7 on 7 team and the Chandler Bears franchise (now known as the Elite Bears and likely adding an 11u this year) are top notch and likely to draw more kids with star power like that. Meanwhile another former player is starting his own franchise. Kyle VandenBosch is starting the AZ Irish franchise as a way to build kids up for the High School program he’s working with. He’s brought along star power from the Cardinals, but it is not driving kids away from some of the more well known youth clubs.
The youth game be like that now. Everyone is trying to muster forces to have their own super squad to take nationally. Truth be told, I don’t want to travel for football. That stuff creates a ton of problems at home–especially considering that my partner (correctly) surmises the situation there is more about the parents than it is about the competition. I believe the competition has a role too and for some of the kids it is in fact about that. However, it is mostly about swag and getting noticed. You do not need to travel to be successful at the next level.
Unfortunately, the league we are in has made travel a central part of the experience. We are now part of a 4-state collective dedicated to holding competitions, regularly scheduled games, and championships at the D1 and D2 levels across state lines. I don’t know what to do about that just yet.
How is it going for him right now? Well, he isn’t playing. He isn’t working out regularly and not showing the heart and dedication for the sport as he used to. I’m not going to push it. He has to want it more than I do, and at this point he has to want it a lot more for it to matter. The other boy, the mid-kid, is playing 13u ball, closing out his youth career with his friends while he runs Varsity HS track. It’s a big deal for him to be able to do those two things and it fills him with confidence. I am proud of the dude. I am proud of the first born too as he works his way back from an ACL tear. Now there is a kid who wants it. He has been fighting to get back almost entirely on his own. I need to chip in and help now–do some workouts with him.
Some Thoughts:
- Let my kid’s car sit idle for almost half a year. I got it up and running today and drove it around. Still have work to do on the thing. Specifically, I need to reinflate the tires and add a fuel stabilizer for the old gas in the tank.