Community

drj0514 won the Throwdown.

drj0514

vs

Ombudsman Cooz

Throwndowns: 4
Record: 1 - 3 - 0
Charleston, SC
All Throwdowns
5
Votes
Throwndowns: 67
Record: 53 - 12 - 2
St. Paul, MN
All Throwdowns
16
Votes

There should be a line in coaching and pushing kids in sports.


I played from age 5 to college at Georgia. I was pushed to develop and when I reached high school; I had the passion and fundamentals to play. It is fine to push but parents should allow a kid to have time to rest and be a kid. We have become a nation of greed and millions of dollars; we have lost the passion and love of playing the game. Having a 12 year old face college choices is wrong. My dad pushed me and drove me but encouraged me when the season ending to rest and just enjoy life. I played 4 years at UGA and had a serious injury. His passion and coaching gave me a passion to continue as a coach and athletic director.

There should be a line when pushing a kid in sports.


Well, OBVIOUSLY there's a line to be crossed. It's where that line is drawn that???s the issue. None of the million-dollar athletes you're referring to got to that point without being pushed. So you can say that the exact motivation you are calling out - kids being pushed, playing year-round, etc. - are the exact reasons those kids end up getting paid in the pros, and watching those athletes is the exact reason you and I are on this site discussing this issue.

Both of us can attest to what else is at work here, and it's much more attainable than playing in Yankee Stadium.

Scholarships.

I wasn't born with the athletic ability of Michael Vick (and I have respect for dogs, too). I had to work my tail off, and get pushed in doing so. That got me to a scholarship, and I'm not in debt now because of it. I didn't enjoy every minute, but if I was not pushed by firm parents and coaches, I'd be $25,000 poorer.

There does come a point where parents need to be realistic, and have the intelligence to recognize that their kid is going to have to work his/her tail off if they want to earn that scholarship. It may not be fair, but an athlete rarely gets to decide that at age 17.


You can push and should develop. Some kids play on two or three team while playing also a school sport and team. It seems they are getting hurt more and losing the opassion and fun in playing. Scholarships legally should be starting at 11th grade and signing in 12th. If we work hard and develop; maturity usually shows up then.

It does take hard and at times miserable work. I am saying you can do that without trying to market your 12 year old and never giving them a chance to be 12.


I think that's a separate issue, though, Dr. J. What is a parent supposed to do if a kid has interest from Louisville's Rick Pitino when he???s 12? I think the wise parent takes this as an opportunity for the kid to develop mental toughness and the ability to focus on what s/he is doing, as opposed to worrying about distractions. This is essential for every aspect of that child???s development, whether in athletics, academics or the Peace Corps.

I know you aren't suggesting this, but it seems to me this country has seen plenty of horrifying things caused by kid who had nothing to do at that age. They weren't provided with ample opportunity to become socially adjusted and learn how to get along with other kids. What's wrong with providing them structure, discipline, exercise and lessons in life, even if it is a year-long thing? The more opportunity a kid has to learn boundaries, teammwork and fair play, the better in my mind.

The kids shooting up schools weren't thought to have done it because they were forced to play basketball all the time.


I agree. Taking a kid to camps for exposure is fine. I went to camps and clinics and in the summer; played ball.

We do need to get our kiids involved but not with three teams in the same season. Exposure is great and experience has to happen. They also need to have time to play other sports and develop as a rounded athlete.

Playing one sport year round and being pushed that it is their life at 12; takes the experience away of playing other sports and enjoying life.


Exposure is good. There are thousands of top-end athletes in this country we'll never hear about because they don't play in an area normally visited by college scouts. Because of that, those student-athletes have to take every opportunity they get to be exposed to high-quality competition and top-level facilities.

I don't see the benefit as being exposure alone, though. Many of the camps, teams, tournaments, etc., provide the coaching and instruction a kid needs to reach an elite level. I'm not bashing Smalltown America, but I lived in one as a sportswriter, and some of these coaches told me in the preseason interview that they didn't want to coach, they had to do it. Situations like that require a kid and his/her parents to act in the best interest of the kid, and take some time during softball season to participate in a basketball camp. That's just the world in which we live.

Pushing a child teaches him/her to learn how to succeed, and handle failure. To me, those are life lessons children can't learn in a better environment. It may not be pleasant, but the gains are further reaching than just succeeding in sports.

Thank you, and vote for the best argument.

Comments (22)

Most Recent Comment Add Comment RSS

There should be a line, but where do you draw that line? Maybe it's different for everyone.

Report Offensive Comment

The athletic directors and clubs can draw the line and have short breaks after each season. We do not allow them to play clubs during the school year. Summer is when they travel or play club. We also encourage them to play other sports. Sometimes being a role player and not star on a team can develop them and make them a more developed athlete. Parents are harder; the less they can see of the "million dollar" dream and more about education and passion; they can hopefully change.

It is not a quick change but as long as we pay 10 million a year for athlete; we will have kids no longer being kids. Greed takes passion and creates selfish and immature people who will do anything for the money.

Getting an education and making money is not wrong, but there has to be boundaries or it will become what we are seeing; a society of greed and corrupt athletes.

Report Offensive Comment

I also agree there should be a line, but that's not much of an argument. Tell me where that line is. I grew up with Howard Johnson, and his dad pushed him all the time in baseball. Forced him to switch hit. Sent him to camps. On him all the time. But he now has two World Series rings, a solid bank account, and is the hitting coach for the Mets. So did he push him too hard? I don't think HoJo would say so.

Report Offensive Comment

That's what my argument is saying, Jim.

But a kid won't know whether or not he can be Howard Johnson (CERTAINLY not an overly gifted athlete) unless he is pushed. You can't make a 12-year-old make that kind of decision. Just like anything, a parent needs to be behind him/her.

Report Offensive Comment

I agree with you 100%. The "line" would have to be way down there near "beatings, punishment, etc". My sons are both in bands. I pushed them to practice, play gigs, work their butt off promoting....etc. And eventually both said they were in effect, firing me. Too much pressure. Then both of their bands ended up signed with labels and releasing CDs, touring nationally, meeting big names and such. And both now say they would have never gotten there without me "pushing".

Report Offensive Comment

You can push them to play sports and get them developed. There is a difference in telling your 12 year old to play for the experience and push them to be good. Than making them play year round and trying to juggle three teams in the same season for recruitment at the age of 12.

I think club and AAU is great but it should be in the offseason and the kids still need a break andtime to be a kid.

Report Offensive Comment

That was actually going to be part of my next argument...but yes, that's exactly the point. I hate the fact I'm starting to sound like my parents, but it's not always for kids to like. It's for them to do. This is in reference to kids who have the talent, and the parents aren't in denial about their son or daughter's true level of ability.

If the kid wants to play for fun, then fine, but kids/parents who want to provide a life benefit through athletics, they need to be pushed.

We've got the rest of our lives to play rec softball and basketball. I do that, and it's a blast. My life isn't ruined because I played competitively during my Glory Years...

Report Offensive Comment

I played and worked hard all season. I think the parents should get them the experience. The line should be drawn when the kid never has time to be kid. They play on 3 teams year round and never get the experience to play on some teams that may not star on but enjoy. I played baseball, basketball and football. I always looked forward to each season. The line drwn was I had to wait until each season. It made me a rounded player and kept the passion. When I went to 10th garde a choose two sports and worked hard at them.

Report Offensive Comment

I think as adults, we should have a legal right to confront the coaches we had back in the day that really made it not fun to play the sport.

For instance, I would love to have a legal right to beat the crap out of Rick Duda from westwood little league. He's like 5'7" 130 and he had nothing but verbal abuse for me when I was 9 and it was my first year of playing organized baseball.

Report Offensive Comment

It is true their is a benefit for making our kids play sports. We can push and work them without showing them the door to the corrupt way we have created with money and other issues. Let them play and develop. Teach them passion and a value to the game. Having scholarships is a good thing but having a kid is also a one shot moment in raising and spending time with them. Sometimes a break from a sport at age 12 gives them a look at other sports and still teaches and develops them. It also gives them an excitement for each sport.

Report Offensive Comment

Let's finish the arguement... reply Steelercooz???

Report Offensive Comment

Gimme a break, guy! I'm at work here, trying to justify my job by cruising around this site! lol

Report Offensive Comment

im always at work when im on this site......i get paid to be on here(not really, but you know what i mean)

Report Offensive Comment

i think if the kid is really good and enjoys the sport, you have to push him son. but the parents who force their kids to continue playing a sport they hate are wrong. i think you should make them try each different sport, but if they didnt like it allow them to give it up after the season (definitely dont allow them to quit in the middle of the year)

Report Offensive Comment

sorry... I know you are busy. It is a topic that runs deep. Athletes need the exposure but they also need a line that helps guide them and keep them focused on education and good values.

Being year round with several sports is fine. Working year round at 12 with one sport and trying to juggle 2 or 3 sports is not. I have seen many miss games and practices becuse they were trying to play on other teams for exposure at age 12. They need to choose and be responsible and the parents can help with this. Sometimes a player develops in another sport at age 12 that helps them be a better athlete in the sport the love.

Report Offensive Comment

Iron 35%
Curtain 89%

Report Offensive Comment

LOL! That's the best "IRON CURTAIN" call yet...

Report Offensive Comment

Long Live The Curtain Of Iron. lol

Report Offensive Comment

I think we can both agree that we can push athletes hard but should also let them have the experience of school sports.

It is true we have many who do not care about school or team concept. They make their kids play year round and sometimes on 3 diffrent teams in one season. They go to the best high schools and transfer if they cannot be the star. They play and do whatever it takes to win ; even if it means drugs. They may be champions on paper but they usually have a sad ending to their "win at all cost" life. You can work and play year round and still teach the value of being responsible to a program and that education will keep you focused above all else.

Report Offensive Comment
 

Thanks Steelercooz. Good info and topic. I think we both can appreciate hard work when teaching sports.

Thanks for the Throw Down.

Report Offensive Comment

Add a comment

Remember to keep it clean. Bad words will get filtered, and offensive comments will be removed. More Guidelines


or cancel

SI.com Photos

Faces at the U.S. Open
Back in Time: September 5
Former Athletes Turned Politicians
Visit SI.com for more photo galleries

SI.com Top 10 Headlines

Visit SI.com for more stories