what's the most important thing?

I was 25 on my birthday.

 

the right thing

year round? doesn't anyone play football or basketball anymore?

 

People..please excuse Intimidator Coach as he is dyslexic

 

That's a great topic for it's own thread. But yes...some do. But as each year passes, you see less and less. Such a shame!!!

 

the right thing

i want my son to be limited by no man or idea. i want him to experience and live to the fullest his teenage years and enjoy sports and other things instead of them becoming drudgery.he plays football,basketball and baseball and will continue to do so as long as he wants to and can make the team. if he could i'd love for him to be in the band, chorus,drama and anything else he wanted to try. i certainly would tell his football coach if he wanted him to stop the other 2 that he'd give up football first before giving up the others and he'd tell all of his coaches the same thing.the experience of being on teams and the friendships and memories made with neighbors and classmates cannot be duplicated no matter what others say. he knows that there are things bigger than himself and that putting the team first and playing to win for his team and community is the reason you play not just to get ahead financially. if you have tools you'll get seen in any sport but that's not why i want my son to play. i took a lot from my experience in athletics that had nothing to do with mone, life lessons learned from men who cared about me and the community they represented.many times my coaches would say look at that name on your jersey and then tell me and all your neighbors that you going to give up, i think about those times even now when times are tough.i don't see that lesson as something that will happen in travel or showcase ball.i want my son to have the same kind of memories if he wants them,i want him to have the same kind of men coaching him. men who love the kids and the game and are not just trying to get a few bucks for some outside lessons and will instill pride in self and community in him.

 

I understand how you feel. I think many of us have gone through that at one time or another....and speaking for myself, as an old fogie, a lot that goes on today I don't like...I don't like cell phones, cable tv and video games...but that is just me.

It is a family decision on what is best for their child...and neither decision is wrong. But much of what you have said has certainly entered my mind on many occasions. I'm one of the lucky ones in that I get an opportunity to go through the whole process one more time.....I have a 7 yo and he will play all the sports that he likes all the way through HS.

PS- I am only speaking in general terms here, so you coaches out there don't send me mean PM's. Coaching has changed a lot, too. If I had one bit of advice to the young coaches it is this. Coaching a sport is a whole lot more than just teaching fundamentals and setting examples through discipline. It is being a father figure to the kids; getting to know them personally...knowing when the kid is struggling with outside influences...knowing when his GF just dumped him. Helping him go through his struggles with life...being there when he needs counsel. Kicking him in the butt when he needs it, but patting him on the back when he needs that. People call this "Old School"....I like to call it good coaching.

Of the 50+ coaches I have had in my life, the one that stands above the rest was this crusty ol' coach who cussed and fussed with the best of 'em. I'll never forget when he called me into his office and I thought he was going to chew my butt out for something.

He gave me some money and told me to cut the grass on the field. Somehow this coach knew I didn't have any money....and I didn't even know he knew my family. I asked him about that later after I went off to college. He said, " Braves, I know everything about all my boys"...Wow...I miss that ol' coot.

 

:applause: :applause: :applause: :applause:

 

I think there is one factor that I don't think anyone has mentioned yet in this discussion, location. I live in Charlotte and played Legion ball in Charlotte, and I did not experience the team rivalries and life-long friendships that have been talked about in Legion ball. This is mostly because the Legion posts change yearly in Charlotte. I wish that I could have played for a showcase team because I probably could have received a scholarship to play college ball. However, I played for a subpar high school team and played legioin ball the summer before my senior year and the summer after my senior year and was not seen by many, if any, scouts. The community feeling of Legion ball is not the same in Charlotte as it is in Kannapolis, Shelby, Caldwell, and other places like that. There are guys on my college team that played for the same showcase team together for four or five years. Personally, I think the showcase route is the better one for kids living in a bigger city, because it does offer a great chance to be seen by more scouts and if they are able to play for the same showcase organization, they create great friendships that can continue into college.

 

Just a note - the guy who started our "showcase" program did it truly for the love of the kids and the game, not for money. I believe that with all my heart. And watched him personally sacrifice as he proved it.
And my son chose to play one sport, baseball, because he loved it more than anything else. Doesn't make the 2 or 3 sport kid better or worse. Just is what it is. You can play one sport and be fulfilled, just like you can play 3. I played 3 in High School but was the jack of all, master of none.
This is a family decision. There is no right or wrong. In the words of Vance Havener, " Milk everyone's cow if you want; just make your own butter."

 

Leave it up to the player

If a kid wants to play more than one sport thats great. Support them encourage them and pull for the whole team. If a kid wants to concentrate on one sport do the same thing. Why would you want a kid to play a sport that his heart is really not in? And why would you want a kid to have regrets about not playing a sport for the rest of his life? Leave it up to the kids and let them make the decisons. Of course we are going to have our opinions as what is best for them and yes we will speak our minds. But in the end the decision in my opinion is the players to make. I tell kids play by all means if you really want to. But if you are playing because someone else wants you to you are making a big mistake. Play because you want to and no one else.