Read Andre Agassi’s autobiography “Open” to get an appreciation of just how good you have to be to become a professional tennis player. At 13, he was regularly beating 18 year olds, so no, your son playing 2nd singles for the high school is not going to win Wimbledon.
However, if you have a daughter, have her row. It’s how my daughter got her scholarship for college. Plus, it’s a great sport for fitness, discipline and camaraderie; rowers are a different breed.
Glad you were able to share this experience with your son, watching group dynamics is always fun and often amusing. I appreciate your wish to be anonymous and just cheer for him. Let the parents who "need" this enjoy their importance. Your objectives for him are the correct ones in my semi-humble opinion, teamwork and perseverance gets you through most things in life.
I coached Futsal for many years. Learned from one of the best, Keith Tozer, Technical Director of USYF. It is a fantastic sport and totally different from soccer. Different technique, faster thinking, and tactically unique.
My daughter played soccer and futsal for many years, ended up winning the futsal national championship a few years running. Both my kids were/are college athletes so we spent a lot of time ‘vacationing’ at tournament sites. Wouldn’t change it for the world. My happiest memories are of my kids excelling at their sports. Good times...
Hooray for being there for your kid. Mine (20) played rec soccer, we experimented with "travel" baseball one summer and hated it. He ended up in football once he hit middle school (husband played in college so somewhat inevitable). Since football is only a school sport and there are very few ways to participate beyond your school, the parents always seemed a little more "normal" to me. Or maybe we just got lucky. Son is now playing at a D3 college. Parents there are a mixed bag. The current seniors have one extra year of eligibility due the 'rona and some of the parents are the worst in encouraging them to come back for one more year rather than moving on with their life and giving their somewhat battered bodies a break. (This is a high academic school, ain't nobody playing at the next level and everyone is getting a great education, lots of engineers.) I just don't understand the mindset even though I see it all of the time. Good on you for just being there.
Yes. This. Same. Son plays on several soccer and baseball teams. Though I laugh at myself now because I often thought, "Just let the kids play & have fun. This isn't college/pro level and the odds of your kid(s) making it to that level from our small BA town is rare." Guess what? Over 1/2 of our daughter's teammates are playing sports in college on scholarship and some are already being recruited for higher level. Honest! I guess the joke is on me. Though I dare say the intensity of their parents fueled their drive, commitment, access to training and level of play. Just hope they are doing it for themselves and not their parents.
Back in the day we did traveling speech and debate homeschool tournaments...they were big. There was some of the same dynamics, without the blue or pink hair or mohawks because all the kids wore business suits.
I dodged this bullet with two kids who reluctantly played rec soccer and basketball. I felt sorry for any family stuck with kids competing in playoffs in the Seattle rain over thanksgiving weekend. One struggling mom did see her daughter get a swim scholarship and the daughter is a college head coach somewhere in the Midwest.
Read Andre Agassi’s autobiography “Open” to get an appreciation of just how good you have to be to become a professional tennis player. At 13, he was regularly beating 18 year olds, so no, your son playing 2nd singles for the high school is not going to win Wimbledon.
Read it! Liked it!
However, if you have a daughter, have her row. It’s how my daughter got her scholarship for college. Plus, it’s a great sport for fitness, discipline and camaraderie; rowers are a different breed.
Glad you were able to share this experience with your son, watching group dynamics is always fun and often amusing. I appreciate your wish to be anonymous and just cheer for him. Let the parents who "need" this enjoy their importance. Your objectives for him are the correct ones in my semi-humble opinion, teamwork and perseverance gets you through most things in life.
I coached Futsal for many years. Learned from one of the best, Keith Tozer, Technical Director of USYF. It is a fantastic sport and totally different from soccer. Different technique, faster thinking, and tactically unique.
My daughter played soccer and futsal for many years, ended up winning the futsal national championship a few years running. Both my kids were/are college athletes so we spent a lot of time ‘vacationing’ at tournament sites. Wouldn’t change it for the world. My happiest memories are of my kids excelling at their sports. Good times...
Hooray for being there for your kid. Mine (20) played rec soccer, we experimented with "travel" baseball one summer and hated it. He ended up in football once he hit middle school (husband played in college so somewhat inevitable). Since football is only a school sport and there are very few ways to participate beyond your school, the parents always seemed a little more "normal" to me. Or maybe we just got lucky. Son is now playing at a D3 college. Parents there are a mixed bag. The current seniors have one extra year of eligibility due the 'rona and some of the parents are the worst in encouraging them to come back for one more year rather than moving on with their life and giving their somewhat battered bodies a break. (This is a high academic school, ain't nobody playing at the next level and everyone is getting a great education, lots of engineers.) I just don't understand the mindset even though I see it all of the time. Good on you for just being there.
Great read. Thank you. 👍
Yes. This. Same. Son plays on several soccer and baseball teams. Though I laugh at myself now because I often thought, "Just let the kids play & have fun. This isn't college/pro level and the odds of your kid(s) making it to that level from our small BA town is rare." Guess what? Over 1/2 of our daughter's teammates are playing sports in college on scholarship and some are already being recruited for higher level. Honest! I guess the joke is on me. Though I dare say the intensity of their parents fueled their drive, commitment, access to training and level of play. Just hope they are doing it for themselves and not their parents.
I loved this one.
Great piece!
Very relatable.
Back in the day we did traveling speech and debate homeschool tournaments...they were big. There was some of the same dynamics, without the blue or pink hair or mohawks because all the kids wore business suits.
Human nature is always present, and interesting.
I dodged this bullet with two kids who reluctantly played rec soccer and basketball. I felt sorry for any family stuck with kids competing in playoffs in the Seattle rain over thanksgiving weekend. One struggling mom did see her daughter get a swim scholarship and the daughter is a college head coach somewhere in the Midwest.