We must think & react critically as it’s only getting further and further out of hand.
“Just because something is accepted in the youth sports world doesn’t make it right.
Think about it.
We have people sending their kids to globo gyms to do FitFluencer workouts, from an app designed to manipulate the perception of reality.
And society calls that ‘acceptable training.’”
-Ray Zingler on Twitter
“Why did you start playing <insert sport>?”
“Because it was fun & I enjoyed it.”
“Awesome. It wasn’t initially because of recruiting?”
“No, but now because I am so deep into it I feel that I have to try to play in college.”
“Do you still love it like you used to when you first started playing?”
…….(blank stare)……
“I mean, I guess.”
This is a very common theme of conversation I have with kids regarding their sports.
And then obviously there is a spectrum of answers ranging from, “I absolutely love it and am all in.” To “Honestly, I don’t want to play anymore, but I feel like I have to.. please don’t tell my dad.”
As much as I hate to admit it, when seeking answers to how much kids truly love their sports (and all that goes along with them) most conversations tend to fall into the neutral/negative end range.
I recognize this is largely anecdotal evidence from my own observation of a relatively small pool of athletes, though if I were a betting man, I’d be willing to wager significant funds on this being a common theme across the board in our backwards youth sporting landscape.
This is a problem, right?
An accepted problem, but a problem nonetheless.
I understand like anything in life, there has to be positives and negatives, there has to be the necessary evils.
But I often find myself asking do we have to intentionally inject these negatives into their youth sports?
A largely controllable construct that has the potential to be full of fun and life lessons?
Do the kids need the bad mouthing, the politics, the stress, the pressure?
On the youth ball field?
Where nearly unquantifiably less than 1% will make a living playing the game?
Do you think they like the bickering, the scowering of twitter to make themselves feel inferior?
Do you truly think they want to play in 10 tournaments in a summer?
Do you truly think that?
And for what?
A potential partial discount via a ‘scholarship’ on a degree (that largely doesn’t translate to the real world, anymore) that you would have paid for 10 times over, had you not bought into the mental and physical deterioration that we call ‘year round ball’?
Think about it.
