When it comes to your kids’ mental, physical, & emotional development, question everything. Position them accordingly.
“Parents of Youth Athletes:
Most people don’t have your kids best interests in mind.
They have their own best interests in mind.
Remember this as you make decisions pertaining to their mental, physical, & emotional development.
What’s trendy/most profitable for adults isn’t best.”
-Ray Zingler on X
Here’s an unfortunate truth that relates not only to youth sports, but to life:
Most people don’t have your best interests in mind.
They have their best interests in mind.
They will just work, (or hell, today, just pigeonhole you) to make you think their best interests are your best interests.
It’s how greedy, power-hungry people operate.
To learn more about these people, read Robert Greene’s fantastic work ’48 Laws of Power’.
I will caution you that Robert Greene does catch a lot of flack from people who don’t know how to read his work.
He is not “telling you how to live”. Many of the laws of power are ruthless and lack integrity, he’s just simply sharing how power-hungry people work.
You can use this how you wish, to become powerful, or to learn the behavior of power-seeking people so you can avoid them.
I choose the ladder.
Back on track.
The way things are today in our world of youth sports are the way things are for one simple reason, I’ve said it before, and I’ll continue to say it:
Adult profitability.
That’s it.
While I have no problem with youth sports being a multi-billion-dollar business (potential for higher quality coaching, resources, & etc.), it’s important to note that when large sums of money are in the air and specific groups of people can monopolize subsets of industries, things can get spicy in a hurry.
Big (business) players influence smaller players on how things should be. And when these people influence others on how things should be, this impacts their behavior.
It starts at the top and trickles all the way down.
Do you really think the dues are that much?
Do they need that extra clinic?
Of course not.
Those are 2 examples of the MANY, adult money grabs.
When it comes to our children, it’s important to make decisions that are best for their global development.
And more times than not, this is NOT the path that is trendy.
Paths only get trendy because there are adult dollars at the end of them, anyway.
In a world full of sheep & wolves.
Be a sheepdog.
Question everything.
Make decisions that are best for your kids.
Not the people financially incentivized to manipulate them.
