burnout

[myfeethurt]

you are so right. Year round activities are not for everybody and burn out can be a case of changing intrest. Some young ladies want the scholorship and some just want to play for the fun of it and both are good reasons to play. But if you are that young lady that wants to play at the next level then you have to play for a good travel team if you are from the Northeast TN area. If you are the young lady that just wants to play then there is no reason to put yourself through the year round grind. Also, I must say if you find a good travel team to play for it is a very rewarding experance and can be a real joy but those type of teams are few and far between. I hope every young lady has the opportunity to reach there dream. What ever they are!!!

 

You are also right about the kids playing for the parents. If this is the case then everybody looses.

 

Define next level - College in general, DI, DII, DIII, NAIA?

[compusatman]

Wonderful thread. Good to know I am not alone. Alot of great points here. Parents of young athletes need to read this. In school I was the athlete that didn't dedicate myself as I should. I had ability but I was not pushed and did not push myself. I was the product of a broken home and my single parent died when I was 15. After I bailed out of college and became a POS I found myself in the gutter one two many times. I picked myself up and became somebody by societies standards. But I swore I would not let my children endure the same failure. So I feel I pushed them...maybe a bit too hard. They were both championship (AAU Nationally Ranked) Martial Artists and black belted by age 9. That was only the beginning. My son was an All State RB and scholarshipped to a DII school. He felt he had failed by not making it to DI. He now studies medicine and is having the fun he missed from his childhood. He made his decisions and I reluctantly allowed him that privelege. My daughter is just as talented but is nearing burn out from having bad high school experiences with coaching. AAU is her last refuge. And she clings to that by a thread. They have to have a life! It's our responsibility as parents to made sure we don't take that away from them. It has to be fun for them. Some kids have much more focus than others. Some have the talent and no focus. Some have it all. I don't profess to have the answer but it is different with each child. So many things come into play. The quality and the lack of in the home life is just the beginning. One thing I am sure of is having great role models to look up to is tantamount to success. Coaches are everything! I was as good a coach as I could be but at some point in time Dad is just Dad. I am forever grateful to the great coaches they both have had over the years. On their part (the coaches), it is a labor of love but in my opinion the key to their wellbeing. College or no college they are better people for their accomplishments. So in that thought, it is a special individual with a special set of circumstances and a gift from above if they can see it through. But I don't look at the ones that don't make it as not success stories as well. They will be model citizens. At least we didn't teach them to be thugs and liabilities to society.