Vents MagaZine Music and Entertainment Magazine
Related Articles
For many families, sports are simply a part of their kids’ childhoods. Traveling between sporting events becomes a part of daily life. This busy routine can start to take a toll on the athletes, their parents, and even other family members, especially for children who hope to compete in their chosen sport at a high level. Parents want their children to enjoy an active life, and sports are often a part of that, but sometimes the sacrifices are not worth the cost. How do you know if it is worth it?
Athletic Skill & Aptitude
Most people who play sports growing up will not end up playing the sport professionally or even at a collegiate level. There are roughly eight million high school athletes. About 480,000 of them will play sports as an NCAA athlete. That means that roughly six percent of high school athletes will play in college, and even fewer will play professionally or compete at the Olympic level. If the teen is interested in playing college ice hockey or lacrosse, the numbers are higher, with around twelve to thirteen percent of male athletes in these sports playing in college. Roughly a quarter of female athletes playing ice hockey and about twelve percent of those playing lacrosse will play in college.
While this does not mean that every athlete who is not going to make it big should quit, but it might be time to consider your child’s chances of excelling in his or her chosen sport. If the child’s chances are minimal, it might be time to cut back on the amount of time that your child spends playing the sport. Instead of playing on multiple teams, it may be time to commit to just one or two teams. Instead of spending every weekend at a competition, cut back to just once or twice a month. Cutting back is especially important if their commitment to the sport is taking a toll on other aspects of their life.
Age-Appropriate Engagement
While many successful athletes were committed to their sport at a young age, it’s important to avoid burnout at a young age from your child’s chosen sport. Early on, the child should be allowed to play the sport for fun, which may mean only participating for a portion of the year. It may even mean taking a break for a while, even if the child has shown a natural talent for the sport. As the child gets older, it might be time to start sacrificing other things to allow the child to commit more time to athletic endeavors.
Commitment Level
When it comes to playing sports, it is important to differentiate between your dreams for your child and your child’s dreams. Tyson Pratcher is a Managing Director at the RockCreek Group and co-founder of the not-for-profit program, the Harlem Jets. Using academic enrichment programs, tackle football, and other youth athletics, his program seeks to engage children, ages six to fourteen, academically while improving their physical fitness.
Mr. Pratcher believes children who are just living their parents’ dreams may become resentful. If child athletes are not fully committed, they likely won’t reach their potential. “It’s important,” says Pratcher, “to encourage your children to participate in a sport for which they have a natural talent while setting boundaries based upon their wishes and interests.” There may come a time when you will need to back off a little and allow your son or daughter to make personal decisions about whether or not they want to continue to participate in a particular sport. Respect this decision, even if you don’t like it. Sometimes, a short break is all your child needs to realize how important the sport is to them.
Financial Investment
To compete at an elite level for most sports requires a major financial commitment. While some families can afford this commitment and others will sacrifice to ensure that their child can continue to compete, for some people, the financial commitment is too high. As hard as it is to address this issue with your child, if their commitment to a sport has caused a major financial strain on your family, it might be time to back off a little. While cutting back may mean participating in fewer competitions, it does not mean your child must quit a sport completely. If the child is a teen, you may choose to have them take on a part-time job to pay for some of the cost.
Sibling Relationships
Probably the most common relationship which might be harmed by your child’s commitment to their sport is their relationship with siblings. Other siblings may start to feel resentful of all the family’s time and money seems to go toward supporting this child’s dream. It is important to find the right balance and maintain a healthy relationship with all of your children. Ensure your actions do not make your children feel like their athletic sibling is your favorite or the only one that matters. At the very least, commit to spend more time with your other children, and make sure you are supporting your children in their individual dreams if you have found that much of your family’s time and money is focused on your elite athlete.
Your decision to support and sacrifice for a child athlete is one which will affect your family dynamic, finances, and free time. Ultimately, you must make decisions that best suit your child and family. The athletic experience provides an abundance of positives as your child develops and grows, and the hard decision of balancing those benefits and the potential pitfalls is one you must make with great consideration and thought.
Source:
ncaa.org/about/resources/research/estimated-probability-competing-college-athletics
