You cant fix stupid. I have had people ask me why I coach. Most are shocked when I tell them my daughter is on the team. I guess Im getting that part right.
What the shows captures and displays is disturbing. Kids are impressionable. They emulate their role models. System broken
i guess they could do a show about youth sports with kind, strong coaches and intelligent parents who know their relative places in the bigger picture, but, what kind of ratings would we be talking about? maybe reality tv IS only made for bad people . . .
That's a helluva article and story. I like hockey, but I don't know much about it. It's just not a part of Southern culture. But I do understand these type of parents. It's a gross understatement, but they suck. I had been coaching for 12 years before I had kids. I am eternally grateful for this fact because the biggest lesson I have learned from now over 25 years of coaching is how NOT to act as a parent. I encourage my kids to work hard to improve at whatever they choose to do, but in the end, it's THEIR choice. THEY will be the ones that will benefit from hard work or suffer if they are lazy. I had my time playing ball. It was great, but it's over now. It's not about me anymore; it's about my kids. I see these type parents all the time. Well, I don't see the beatings described here or you would have read about a semi-crippled old coach either whipping a dad's ass or getting his ass beat by one. Last summer the police had to be called to come to my youngest daughter's league championship game. Wasn't me or the parents on my daughter's team. I just sit in my chair, keep my mouth shut and enjoy watching my daughter have the time of her life everytime she steps on a ball field. It was sickening. She plays hard, but she plays with integrity. Integrity will last a lifetime. You might not understand me using integrity to describe the way a 10 year-old plays ball, but it's the gospel truth. My Macie is a pretty decent little ballplayer, but she's a world champion in the integrity department. I'm most proud of that. Snd I make sure she knows that. I coached for 12 years before I had kids. Thank God I did. But by the Grace of God, there go I.
As little shats we would play pick up games on the outdoor rink all winter, be it 2 on 2 or 20 on 20, waxing nostalgic here but that was about the best time I ever had. The only supervision was a random parent who lingered while dropping off or picking someone up, rules and teams changed on the fly, though we always kept score. When I got into the organized end of things it just wasn't the same, of course it's easier to notice that 25 years into the rearview.
