- May 20, 2015
- 1,129
- 113
this notion of hugs & trophies for everyone is the single most tired trope i've heard......while it is true that a small sub-population of parents snow plow/steam roll/helicopter their way through child raising, this generation has it far more competitive than i ever did as a child of the 70's & 80's
my kids have been 'competing' for grades and status in school since middle school......travel sports have so over taken the world of youth sport, rec leagues are struggling and specialization has killed the 3 sport athlete often before kids even get to middle school age......everyone knows everyones business thanks to social media, and everyone pushes to impress.......their world is FAR more competitive and stressful than the one i grew up in......
yes, i have decided to give them the tools needed to succeed in a competitive world, and part of that has been the ability to lose appropriately, and to learn from that losing....
i'm glad i grew up when i did.......
here it's usually an inning and an at-bat for the non-starter senior - this year we have one non-starter that is a senior (we only have 2), and we've known her since early rec ball days.....she's always been 'that' kid......the one that you hold your breath on when someone hits a ball her way during BP, the one that takes a ball off her body trying to make a play and does it with a smile, the one that always has a kind word for a teammate, even if on some level she probably wishes she got more time.......she's thrilled to have been on this team for 4 years, and if she DIDN"T get the start on senior night, i suspect her teammates would be pretty upset.......she's a kid that always just wanted to be treated as just another teammate, and this group has done a great job with that.......her start will mean more to them than it will to her.......and THAT is the type of lesson we want kids to learn from all of this
my kids have been 'competing' for grades and status in school since middle school......travel sports have so over taken the world of youth sport, rec leagues are struggling and specialization has killed the 3 sport athlete often before kids even get to middle school age......everyone knows everyones business thanks to social media, and everyone pushes to impress.......their world is FAR more competitive and stressful than the one i grew up in......
yes, i have decided to give them the tools needed to succeed in a competitive world, and part of that has been the ability to lose appropriately, and to learn from that losing....
i'm glad i grew up when i did.......
here it's usually an inning and an at-bat for the non-starter senior - this year we have one non-starter that is a senior (we only have 2), and we've known her since early rec ball days.....she's always been 'that' kid......the one that you hold your breath on when someone hits a ball her way during BP, the one that takes a ball off her body trying to make a play and does it with a smile, the one that always has a kind word for a teammate, even if on some level she probably wishes she got more time.......she's thrilled to have been on this team for 4 years, and if she DIDN"T get the start on senior night, i suspect her teammates would be pretty upset.......she's a kid that always just wanted to be treated as just another teammate, and this group has done a great job with that.......her start will mean more to them than it will to her.......and THAT is the type of lesson we want kids to learn from all of this