Over the last several years, I’ve had an opportunity to observe several child athletes.  With the Winter Olympics having come and gone, and NCAA March Madness just around the corner, I’ve been considering the effect parents are having on their child athletes.  I can’t help but think that, as parents, we’re doing our kids a disservice.

Child Athletes – How Parents Are Overdoing it

I’ll start by admitting I’m a sports fan.  There was a time when I steadfastly refused to miss a chance to watch my favorite college basketball team play, and would get quite upset when they lost.  While nowhere as rabid as I once was, I can still enjoy watching a good basketball game or tennis match.

But, truth be told, now that I’m a parent, and had the opportunity to watch the behavior of other parents over their child athletes, I’m less enamored with the entire system.

Why?

The truth is that there are 30-40 million kids in the U.S. that play sports.  Of that group, only a fraction will go on to play high school athletics of some sort, and only about 5% of the high school athletes will be competitive college athletes.  Only a small fraction of those will go on scholarship.  The rest will be walk-on athletes.

Consider this.  Only about 1.5% of college athletes will go on to play professional athletics, and the average professional baseball career only lasts a grand total of 4 years.  What happens at the end of that four years?

Parents And Their Child Athletes

A friend of mine and I went to a local gym a few weeks ago to play tennis, and observed that one of the courts was isolated for training child athletes.  They had two batting cages and two pitching nets set up, and four kids under the age of 10 were receiving private instruction.  A tennis court was also cordoned off for private tennis lessons for a kid who looked to be about 12 years old.

It just seemed over the top to me.

Want more evidence that parents are “over the top” with their child athletes?

Orthopaedic surgeons are reporting a dramatic rise in the occurrence of pediatric sports injuries.  Kids are playing year-round sports, or participating in multiple sports simultaneously.  It’s a recipe for disaster, and the American Association for Orthopaedic Surgeons has described the problem as a “silent epidemic.”

What’s the Solution?

Having said all this, I’ll admit that I’m a fan of athletics.  I believe that team sports provides kids with an opportunity to get exercise, stay fit, and develop a sense of teamwork and belonging with their peers.  And, to be honest, if my kids want to take tennis lessons, or attend basketball camp, I’m not adverse to that, either.

But there’s a limit.

The reality is that kids need even more rest than adults to avoid injuries, and pushing our children to achieve college or professional level athletic prowess, does them a disservice.  Not only are the odds exceptionally slim that they will ever achieve that status, the odds are even smaller that they will make their living as athletes.  So, pushing them to achieve in athletics at such a high level forces them to focus on that, rather than on developing their education and other skills.

So go out and support your child in athletics.  Encourage them to succeed.  But don’t live vicariously though them.  Take sports for what they are.  A game.

Truth be told, that’s probably all your child wants anyway.

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How Parents Are Hurting Their Child Athletes

Many of my friends have a fear of getting older.  Not me.  Yet anyway.

Thoughts About The Fear Of Getting Older

My birthday just came and went.  Even though I’m not yet 40, the “old man” jokes have already started.  But, when I look around at my friends and family that are in their 50’s and 60’s, I can see the rich lives they live.  I know many people in their 50’s and 60’s who travel the globe, hunt, and fish.  They hike from rim-to-rim of the Grand Canyon and take up mountain biking.  They open a business, fail, and start again.

They ramp off the bank of a frozen lake on a sled, take their foray into computing, drum in a local band, and play tennis.

Just like “the younger folks.”  (That’s a quote).

I don’t generally dwell much on age, but its my birthday.  Toss in the fact that my 20th year high school reunion is being planned, and it seems natural to think about the subject a little.

I read recently that “older people” (whatever that means, exactly) often describe themselves as feeling younger than their chronological age.  I would have to say that I can relate to that, as well.  At 38, I don’t “feel” like I would have expected, even now that I’m sneaking up on 40.

Much of the research now is suggesting that “subjective age” may have more to do with how we deal with aging than even our chronological age.  Most evidence suggests that having a positive outlook on aging and staying physically active will improve our mobility and cognitive function much later into life.

The truth is, the first 18-25 years of life is spent trying to “find ourselves.”  We spend that time learning, growing, and trying to determine who we’re going to be when we grow up.  And that’s how it should be.  But even if you’re a student until the ripe old age of 25, for most of us, that still leaves another 50+ years of life.  That’s a lot of time.  It’s time to learn and grow, without the pressures of trying to “learn who we are,” and the awkwardness that comes with the teenage years.

So I guess right now, I’m about halfway through my statistically allotted time.  I’m fortunate enough to be blessed with a wonderful wife, great kids, friends and family.

There’s a long time left.

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Why You Shouldn’t Have A Fear Of Getting Older

It’s been a while since I’ve done a book review, and having just finished the collection by Timothy Zahn - Cobra Trilogy, the time seems ripe.

The Cobra Trilogy

I received Cobra Trilogy as a Christmas gift.  Having read the first two books in the trilogy many moons ago, getting the trilogy gave me a chance to finish off the series (or so I though, anyway).

The trilogy tells the story of the Moreau family, starting with Johnny Moreau.  Set in a future where Man has branched out to explore the Universe, our race now inhabits many planets, which are ruled collectively by the Dominion of Man.  Faced with an invading race, known as Trofts, the Dominion accepts volunteers for a newly formed military unit, called the Cobras.  Johnny Moreau is accepted to the unit, and undergoes a grueling surgical procedure, to find himself a living weapon.  With nearly unbreakable, laminated bones, servo motors in his joints, and an arsenal to rival a small military unit, he is the perfect guerilla warrior.  Indistinguishable from the general populace, he has a nano-computer implanted at the base of his brain that takes control and assesses threats, allowing him to respond faster than human thought.

Book 1 deals with Johnny’s entry into the war, and the exodus of the Trofts.  One would think with such a hero, designed for action sequences, that would be the thrust of the book.  However, the true thrust of the story isn’t the combat ability of the Cobras, but their re-integration into society.  Having successfully put a halt to the threat posed by the Trofts, how can the Dominion now deal with the warriors?  How can a government stay balanced, when an elite group possesses an exponentially greater amount of power than the general populace?

Book 2, Cobra Strike, examines the solution to that problem.  The Moreau family has moved on, with Johnny entering politics as a leader of the Cobras, and his son following in his footsteps.  Taking a leadership position among the Cobra elite, Justin Moreau steps to the forefront in assessing a new threat.  Not Trofts, but humans.  Having forgotten their roots, a world of humans that offers an insane paranoia and perfect cooperation poses a threat of unimaginable proportions, should they ever manage to re-discover interstellar travel and be in a position to threaten the Cobra worlds.  While many favor sending an overwhelming Cobra force to eliminate the threat entirely, Justin develops an alternative plan.  One he hopes will save the people of Quasama, and the Cobra forces.

Book 3, Cobra Bargain, deals with Jin Moreau’s desire to become the first woman to enter into the Cobra academy.  When her uncle places his governorship on the line to make that a reality, she becomes the cornerstone of a new mission to assess an unknown threat on Quasama.

In Cobra Trilogy, Timothy Zahn gets us to consider the social impact of our choices.  Although the Cobra forces are interesting in combat, that is by no means the thrust of this storyline.  If you enjoy this genre of science fiction, its a well written series, and recommended.

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Book Review: Timothy Zahn’s Cobra Trilogy