Believing you can “do it all” is exactly what will short circuit your kid’s potential.
“In my experience, the kids who go the furthest are the kids who’s parents understand the value of quality resources.
They don’t try to be coach, trainer, teacher, and tutor.
They work to find them the best of the above so they can focus on being the best mom and dad.”
-Ray Zingler on Twitter
I have worked with thousands of youth athletes over the years.
I obviously don’t have everything figured out, but I have picked up on a few things.
There are some commonalities shared by those who end up going the furthest.
And I don’t necessarily mean “furthest” athletically, but in life in general. There is a different aura to these people and for a long time I couldn’t exactly figure out what it was.
Obviously, the no bullshit attitudes, the work ethics, the commitment, and common sense was all there, but there was something else to it that I just couldn’t put my finger on.
I’ve come to learn and I think becoming a parent myself has helped me realize this: The kids who go the furthest, typically have great parents who understand the value of injecting quality resources into their kid’s lives.
It’s not to say that they don’t desire to help their children themselves, obviously they do, but by outfitting them with quality resources across the board in an increasingly competitive world, not only are they giving their kids the best chance at success, they are freeing up bandwidth to be the best mom and dad they can be.
It’s the egotistical parents who think they can “do it all” from ball coach to math tutor (you can do this when they’re 6, obviously) who end up butting heads and creating a less than ideal dynamic with their kids.
You see it all the time.
The dad out there (not leading by example in his own life) bitching at his kid at the ball field or at the track about how he “used to do it in his day.”
Do you honestly think this is the best way to go about things?
What if you hired a professional coach for your kid to train him up correctly instead of trying to wing it yourself?
Not only would your kid see actual, tangible results, that’s one less thing off your plate that frees up space for deeper love, encouragement, and connection.
Sounds like a pretty good investment to me, but again the ego complex prevents a lot of parents (dad’s especially) from letting go of the reins.
I’ve learned not letting other (quality) people coach/teach/mentor your kids is one of the biggest mistakes you can make.
