Wednesday, October 28, 2015
To play or not to play. That is the question on so many parents and young athletes’ minds.
Instead of playing a variety of sports, young athletes are often forced to choose the one sport they have the most chance to succeed at, even if that means giving up on other opportunities.
Coach Corey, Founder and Owner of CAL Sports Academy, has seen this happen time and time again.
“I’m starting to witness more over the years that some parents are living vicariously through their kids or maybe the social pressures are so strong that by not participating in a particular activity it means their kids are going to miss our or fall behind,” Coach Corey said.
It’s not just parents who are influencing young athletes. Oftentimes coaches, especially those at the higher level, demand their kids dedicate their entire focus to their sport.
Young athletes are then forced to make choice: eliminate other distractions or risk losing a spot on the team.
“Kids would probably love to play multiple sports,” Coach Corey said. “What happened to the days when kids played multiple sports in the street and playgrounds for fun without the pressure of society forcing them to think about becoming a professional athlete in 5th grade.“
“However, it seems that some parents convince their kids to play the sports they enjoyed as a child rather than let them explore multiple sports to truly build a passion for another, so the child might not even have an opportunity to explore the possibilities because it truly takes time (or years) to build passion for a sports.,” Coach Corey said. “Makes me wonder, if they are getting a fair chance? “
In a world where children are put into Gymboree classes before they can even walk, it can be hard for parents to let their young athletes make the decision, but that might not be a bad thing.
“I think today’s kids need to more time to figure out the sports they want to pursue other than the sports their parents enjoy. Time is the key factor as it can’t be a one-time, eight-week program once and done. We need to give our kids time to develop love and passion for other sports,” Coach Corey said. “After all, failure is not a bad thing. It teaches us and help us to improve because success doesn’t come in with the first try at least for most of us; you only fail when you quit.”
Read more from our Path to Success Blog.