- Joined
- May 26, 2008
- Messages
- 2,549
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I have mixed feelings on this one.
I have a daughter who is nearly ten, and she is very good at softball. She is an all-star in her public little league and she is the ace pitcher on her team in her competitive league which travels around the region for tournaments. Aside from practices, she meets with and receives instruction from a former college pitching coach who won an NCAA national championship and takes batting lessons with a specialized coach once a week. These are all done after school hours. She loves softball. But she's 10.
When she was 7 and 8 I coached her youth soccer team, and we won back to back championships in our league. She was a very good goalie, averaging less than two goals allowed per game, which for youth soccer is pretty darn low. Most of our games ended 5-1 or worse for the other team, losing 3 games in a two year span. She easily could have continued excelling at soccer, but one day she said "I don't want to play soccer anymore".
and like that, her soccer "career" was done. She wanted to place the emphasis on softball. Although I am doing all I can to encourage her softball and overall athletic skills, including S&C drills that she and I will do on the weekends together, her love of softball may cease at any moment...and when it does, I feel it's my job as a parent to let it pass. She needs to do the things she loves and grow into the person that she envisions...
Although pulling her out of school would give her a greater chance to refine the skills she needs to continue to succeed at softball through the high school and college ranks, I feel that pulling her out of school would lower her exposure to other interests (choir, band, drama) and limit her becoming a truly well rounded person.
I won't let my dreams of athletic success that I was never able to attain for a variety of life reasons drive my parenting and force upon my child a life that she doesn't want, and I wouldn't pull her out of school to chase a dream when that dream can easily change as fast as her taste in music (dangit itunes, I wish there was a return policy for those awful kidz bop albums)
I have a daughter who is nearly ten, and she is very good at softball. She is an all-star in her public little league and she is the ace pitcher on her team in her competitive league which travels around the region for tournaments. Aside from practices, she meets with and receives instruction from a former college pitching coach who won an NCAA national championship and takes batting lessons with a specialized coach once a week. These are all done after school hours. She loves softball. But she's 10.
When she was 7 and 8 I coached her youth soccer team, and we won back to back championships in our league. She was a very good goalie, averaging less than two goals allowed per game, which for youth soccer is pretty darn low. Most of our games ended 5-1 or worse for the other team, losing 3 games in a two year span. She easily could have continued excelling at soccer, but one day she said "I don't want to play soccer anymore".
and like that, her soccer "career" was done. She wanted to place the emphasis on softball. Although I am doing all I can to encourage her softball and overall athletic skills, including S&C drills that she and I will do on the weekends together, her love of softball may cease at any moment...and when it does, I feel it's my job as a parent to let it pass. She needs to do the things she loves and grow into the person that she envisions...
Although pulling her out of school would give her a greater chance to refine the skills she needs to continue to succeed at softball through the high school and college ranks, I feel that pulling her out of school would lower her exposure to other interests (choir, band, drama) and limit her becoming a truly well rounded person.
I won't let my dreams of athletic success that I was never able to attain for a variety of life reasons drive my parenting and force upon my child a life that she doesn't want, and I wouldn't pull her out of school to chase a dream when that dream can easily change as fast as her taste in music (dangit itunes, I wish there was a return policy for those awful kidz bop albums)