Sports, Sports & more sports!

Janet - posted on 12/30/2008

I have a 15 yo that LOVES sports. He has played baseball since the age of 5, basketball since 2nd grade and football since 5th grade. The past 3 years he has been on a travel baseball team not to mention also playing on other teams (sports) at the same time. He is now a freshman in high school and was on the freasman football team and out of 62 kids was a starter both ways. He is currently on the freshman basketball team .



We constantly tell him how proud we are of him, that he needs to work hard to earn his place on a team and to keep working to keep his spot on the field. We also tell him that there are kids better than him and the only way to keep going is to do more than the others in order to get better, if you maintain you will never get any better. He has recently (last winter) started strength and conditioning on his own as well as with his travel team which is rather expected at this stage of the ball game. (punn intended)



Let him do what he loves, encourage him and most importantly, be there for him win or lose. That is how we do it. They will remember that you were there but they will always remember that you were there to pick them up when they needed it. They appreciate you being there but won't tell you.



We have also streesed the importance of school, and that he needs a back-up plan. We also have told him that he needs something to fall back on after his sports career, if he makes it that far. He has told us that he wants to coach high school sports and be an athletic trainer like the one tht he is going to now.



I hope that I haven't babbled, just tried to answer the most honest and sincere way that I could.



Good luck to your son in all his dreams.

Jen - posted on 12/09/2008

Hello. My almost 13 year old son is also very active in sports, mostly soccer. He, too, dreams big of going to college on scholarship and then playing in the MLS or Europe leagues afterwards. We keep telling him to dream big and go for it, but he has to have a "backup" plan. We stress the importance of having a blend between his dreams and his plan of action for life. If his dreams become reality, fantastic, but he knows that he has to have something "else" lined up, too. Right now, he says he's going to be a veternarian with a special emphasis working with marine mammals. This could also change, but at least he's thinking about what he will study in college and have for a career - of course, he follows that with a "because I'll be on a college scholarship for soccer" - lol. We encourage it all and help him just enjoy doing what he loves right now and that's play soccer or any other sports.