Would you want/hope your son/daughter become a professional player?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have an American friend who has two boys who are playing for the Barca Academy in Barcelona Spain. He moved there because the cost of having just one boy play at the Barca Residency Academy in Arizona was more than having two boys play at the same in Spain. His wife is Mexican, so she is on some sort of Visa program that leads to a Spanish "green card" equivalent, his two boys are on educational visas, and he has to manage on a tourist visa requiring him to come and go frequently from Spain (which his job requires anyways). That is other worldly dedication to me.

He refers to his sons soccer careers as his slow burn retirement strategy.

Are you saying they are paying to be at the Barca Residency program in Spain or you're saying they are at the Barcelona Club Academy (free)?

Ha. Thought the same. La Masia? Seriously they are there. They likely are not at the real academy. Even the vast majority of La Masia players won’t make it.

[Anonymous]

If my son wanted to aim for becoming a professional soccer player, I would support him but also be realistic with him about his chances, and insist that he focus on academics as the (likely) backup.

If my daughter had that notion, I would give her the fact and likely that would persuade her otherwise. For girls, soccer is for fun and maybe squeezing into college.

The numbers you posted don't lie. There is far more fan interest in men's soccer, therefore men's soccer teams and players are valued at much higher levels. It's a business, like anything else. My daughter can do better with almost any other pursuit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No, this is a stupid goal for your children. If someone told me this was their hope for their kid, I would assume they were a deluded, terrible parent, and there is a 99.999% chance I'd be right.

If they happened to be in the .001% that proved me wrong, more power to them.

But they wouldn't be! Your kids will not be pro soccer players, and even if they were, they would probably be middling and make terrible money while risking some kind of injury and squandering opportunities to do literally anything else with their lives.

So the parents of every NBA, MLB, NFL, NHL, Olympian, Indy Driver, Jockey etc etc etc are Delusional Idiots?

Unless they were successful pro athletes themselves, yes. For every family who pours their money and time into producing an NFL starter or an Olympic gymnast, there are thousands of families with the exact same goal who piss all that money and energy into a goal that never happens. And I'm not just talking about the kids who never really stood a shot. I'm talking about the really talented, hard working ones who come really close, but don't make it. They finish just out if contention for the Olympic team, they suffer a catastrophic injury playing college ball, they become depressed or develop an anxiety disorder, they are amazing but impossible to work with, they make the practice squad but never advance, the timing works out so their years on contention have too many similar athletes who are a little better, and on and on.

Yes, you are a delusional idiot if you hope your kid is going to make it as a professional athlete. Just because a teeny tiny number of these idiots one day get an NBC Sports feature where they tearfully explain that they always knew their kid would go all the way does not make this any less true.

Are the parents of aspiring doctors, lawyers also idiots?
Many don't make it even though a lot do.

There are WAY more doctors and lawyers in the world than professional athletes. This is a stupid comparison. But actually I do think it's dumb to *focus* on your kid becoming a doctor or a lawyer. The good news is that if you encourage your kid to do well at school and support them in that, they could decide along the way to do something less ambitious and be fine. You can aspire to be a lawyer and wind up a paralegal and actually that's a perfectly good career. You can plan on becoming a doctor, realize you don't have the work ethic but still love medicine and science, and wind up working in a research lab, or in another career in the medical profession without spending years of your life and racking up loans in med school.

But making "professional soccer player" your aim has no good, lesser option you can bail out for if it turns out you don't have what it takes (and the vast majority of people don't). Sure, you can coach soccer. But that's a crap career, and also, if you never played professionally you are unlikely to get any of the best coaching jobs or ever be paid particularly well (whereas if you become a paralegal instead of a lawyer, you can still go on to work at the top law firms in the world, for instance).

Pinning your hopes on your kid beating a billion to one odds is just dumb. Not saying don't encourage them to try their hardest, do travel soccer, try and make their varsity team in high school, maybe even pursue it in college. Just saying that making pro athlete/Olympian your express goal is more likely to result in disappointment, failure, and family dysfunction than not. A lot more likely, actually.

[Anonymous]

If you would quit your job tomorrow if you won the big lottery today, then being a professional soccer player is a better life

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No, this is a stupid goal for your children. If someone told me this was their hope for their kid, I would assume they were a deluded, terrible parent, and there is a 99.999% chance I'd be right.

If they happened to be in the .001% that proved me wrong, more power to them.

But they wouldn't be! Your kids will not be pro soccer players, and even if they were, they would probably be middling and make terrible money while risking some kind of injury and squandering opportunities to do literally anything else with their lives.

So the parents of every NBA, MLB, NFL, NHL, Olympian, Indy Driver, Jockey etc etc etc are Delusional Idiots?

Unless they were successful pro athletes themselves, yes. For every family who pours their money and time into producing an NFL starter or an Olympic gymnast, there are thousands of families with the exact same goal who piss all that money and energy into a goal that never happens. And I'm not just talking about the kids who never really stood a shot. I'm talking about the really talented, hard working ones who come really close, but don't make it. They finish just out if contention for the Olympic team, they suffer a catastrophic injury playing college ball, they become depressed or develop an anxiety disorder, they are amazing but impossible to work with, they make the practice squad but never advance, the timing works out so their years on contention have too many similar athletes who are a little better, and on and on.

Yes, you are a delusional idiot if you hope your kid is going to make it as a professional athlete. Just because a teeny tiny number of these idiots one day get an NBC Sports feature where they tearfully explain that they always knew their kid would go all the way does not make this any less true.

Are the parents of aspiring doctors, lawyers also idiots?
Many don't make it even though a lot do.

There are WAY more doctors and lawyers in the world than professional athletes. This is a stupid comparison. But actually I do think it's dumb to *focus* on your kid becoming a doctor or a lawyer. The good news is that if you encourage your kid to do well at school and support them in that, they could decide along the way to do something less ambitious and be fine. You can aspire to be a lawyer and wind up a paralegal and actually that's a perfectly good career. You can plan on becoming a doctor, realize you don't have the work ethic but still love medicine and science, and wind up working in a research lab, or in another career in the medical profession without spending years of your life and racking up loans in med school.

But making "professional soccer player" your aim has no good, lesser option you can bail out for if it turns out you don't have what it takes (and the vast majority of people don't). Sure, you can coach soccer. But that's a crap career, and also, if you never played professionally you are unlikely to get any of the best coaching jobs or ever be paid particularly well (whereas if you become a paralegal instead of a lawyer, you can still go on to work at the top law firms in the world, for instance).

Pinning your hopes on your kid beating a billion to one odds is just dumb. Not saying don't encourage them to try their hardest, do travel soccer, try and make their varsity team in high school, maybe even pursue it in college. Just saying that making pro athlete/Olympian your express goal is more likely to result in disappointment, failure, and family dysfunction than not. A lot more likely, actually.

You obviously don't know that the years of discipline and work ethic pays off even in the corporate world if you don't make it to top Pro
Not to mention the network.

Where can we find all these failed soccer players fighting pigeons for crumbs in the park?

[Anonymous]

Of course I do! That's why they are going to the AC Milan Academy!!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No, this is a stupid goal for your children. If someone told me this was their hope for their kid, I would assume they were a deluded, terrible parent, and there is a 99.999% chance I'd be right.

If they happened to be in the .001% that proved me wrong, more power to them.

But they wouldn't be! Your kids will not be pro soccer players, and even if they were, they would probably be middling and make terrible money while risking some kind of injury and squandering opportunities to do literally anything else with their lives.

So the parents of every NBA, MLB, NFL, NHL, Olympian, Indy Driver, Jockey etc etc etc are Delusional Idiots?

Unless they were successful pro athletes themselves, yes. For every family who pours their money and time into producing an NFL starter or an Olympic gymnast, there are thousands of families with the exact same goal who piss all that money and energy into a goal that never happens. And I'm not just talking about the kids who never really stood a shot. I'm talking about the really talented, hard working ones who come really close, but don't make it. They finish just out if contention for the Olympic team, they suffer a catastrophic injury playing college ball, they become depressed or develop an anxiety disorder, they are amazing but impossible to work with, they make the practice squad but never advance, the timing works out so their years on contention have too many similar athletes who are a little better, and on and on.

Yes, you are a delusional idiot if you hope your kid is going to make it as a professional athlete. Just because a teeny tiny number of these idiots one day get an NBC Sports feature where they tearfully explain that they always knew their kid would go all the way does not make this any less true.

Are the parents of aspiring doctors, lawyers also idiots?
Many don't make it even though a lot do.

There are WAY more doctors and lawyers in the world than professional athletes. This is a stupid comparison. But actually I do think it's dumb to *focus* on your kid becoming a doctor or a lawyer. The good news is that if you encourage your kid to do well at school and support them in that, they could decide along the way to do something less ambitious and be fine. You can aspire to be a lawyer and wind up a paralegal and actually that's a perfectly good career. You can plan on becoming a doctor, realize you don't have the work ethic but still love medicine and science, and wind up working in a research lab, or in another career in the medical profession without spending years of your life and racking up loans in med school.

But making "professional soccer player" your aim has no good, lesser option you can bail out for if it turns out you don't have what it takes (and the vast majority of people don't). Sure, you can coach soccer. But that's a crap career, and also, if you never played professionally you are unlikely to get any of the best coaching jobs or ever be paid particularly well (whereas if you become a paralegal instead of a lawyer, you can still go on to work at the top law firms in the world, for instance).

Pinning your hopes on your kid beating a billion to one odds is just dumb. Not saying don't encourage them to try their hardest, do travel soccer, try and make their varsity team in high school, maybe even pursue it in college. Just saying that making pro athlete/Olympian your express goal is more likely to result in disappointment, failure, and family dysfunction than not. A lot more likely, actually.

You obviously don't know that the years of discipline and work ethic pays off even in the corporate world if you don't make it to top Pro
Not to mention the network.

Where can we find all these failed soccer players fighting pigeons for crumbs in the park?

You don't get it. No one is saying to discourage your kid from working hard and dedicated themselves to soccer. No one. This is the soccer forum. Presumably most people in here have kids in soccer and want them to do their best. The question is whether YOUR hope for them would be to become a professional player. And my point is that it does not make sense for a parent to make this their hope or goal. It's fine if it's your kids' goal and it's fine to support them in it. But your job is to be more level headed and make sure they have a backup plan so if it doesn't happen (and it probably won't), they can channel all their dedication and work ethic into something else.

The fact that you are SO MAD about this suggestion that parents should avoid making this a personal goal for their kids indicates to me that you are precisely the kind of parent who could stand to think a bit more expansively about your kids' future, in soccer and out of it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No, this is a stupid goal for your children. If someone told me this was their hope for their kid, I would assume they were a deluded, terrible parent, and there is a 99.999% chance I'd be right.

If they happened to be in the .001% that proved me wrong, more power to them.

But they wouldn't be! Your kids will not be pro soccer players, and even if they were, they would probably be middling and make terrible money while risking some kind of injury and squandering opportunities to do literally anything else with their lives.

So the parents of every NBA, MLB, NFL, NHL, Olympian, Indy Driver, Jockey etc etc etc are Delusional Idiots?

Unless they were successful pro athletes themselves, yes. For every family who pours their money and time into producing an NFL starter or an Olympic gymnast, there are thousands of families with the exact same goal who piss all that money and energy into a goal that never happens. And I'm not just talking about the kids who never really stood a shot. I'm talking about the really talented, hard working ones who come really close, but don't make it. They finish just out if contention for the Olympic team, they suffer a catastrophic injury playing college ball, they become depressed or develop an anxiety disorder, they are amazing but impossible to work with, they make the practice squad but never advance, the timing works out so their years on contention have too many similar athletes who are a little better, and on and on.

Yes, you are a delusional idiot if you hope your kid is going to make it as a professional athlete. Just because a teeny tiny number of these idiots one day get an NBC Sports feature where they tearfully explain that they always knew their kid would go all the way does not make this any less true.

Are the parents of aspiring doctors, lawyers also idiots?
Many don't make it even though a lot do.

There are WAY more doctors and lawyers in the world than professional athletes. This is a stupid comparison. But actually I do think it's dumb to *focus* on your kid becoming a doctor or a lawyer. The good news is that if you encourage your kid to do well at school and support them in that, they could decide along the way to do something less ambitious and be fine. You can aspire to be a lawyer and wind up a paralegal and actually that's a perfectly good career. You can plan on becoming a doctor, realize you don't have the work ethic but still love medicine and science, and wind up working in a research lab, or in another career in the medical profession without spending years of your life and racking up loans in med school.

But making "professional soccer player" your aim has no good, lesser option you can bail out for if it turns out you don't have what it takes (and the vast majority of people don't). Sure, you can coach soccer. But that's a crap career, and also, if you never played professionally you are unlikely to get any of the best coaching jobs or ever be paid particularly well (whereas if you become a paralegal instead of a lawyer, you can still go on to work at the top law firms in the world, for instance).

Pinning your hopes on your kid beating a billion to one odds is just dumb. Not saying don't encourage them to try their hardest, do travel soccer, try and make their varsity team in high school, maybe even pursue it in college. Just saying that making pro athlete/Olympian your express goal is more likely to result in disappointment, failure, and family dysfunction than not. A lot more likely, actually.

You obviously don't know that the years of discipline and work ethic pays off even in the corporate world if you don't make it to top Pro
Not to mention the network.

Where can we find all these failed soccer players fighting pigeons for crumbs in the park?

You don't get it. No one is saying to discourage your kid from working hard and dedicated themselves to soccer. No one. This is the soccer forum. Presumably most people in here have kids in soccer and want them to do their best. The question is whether YOUR hope for them would be to become a professional player. And my point is that it does not make sense for a parent to make this their hope or goal. It's fine if it's your kids' goal and it's fine to support them in it. But your job is to be more level headed and make sure they have a backup plan so if it doesn't happen (and it probably won't), they can channel all their dedication and work ethic into something else.

The fact that you are SO MAD about this suggestion that parents should avoid making this a personal goal for their kids indicates to me that you are precisely the kind of parent who could stand to think a bit more expansively about your kids' future, in soccer and out of it.

No kid can become a top level professional soccer player who doesn't want it

So there is no parent on here who wants it for their kid. Will never happen or even get close to Pro

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No, this is a stupid goal for your children. If someone told me this was their hope for their kid, I would assume they were a deluded, terrible parent, and there is a 99.999% chance I'd be right.

If they happened to be in the .001% that proved me wrong, more power to them.

But they wouldn't be! Your kids will not be pro soccer players, and even if they were, they would probably be middling and make terrible money while risking some kind of injury and squandering opportunities to do literally anything else with their lives.

So the parents of every NBA, MLB, NFL, NHL, Olympian, Indy Driver, Jockey etc etc etc are Delusional Idiots?

Unless they were successful pro athletes themselves, yes. For every family who pours their money and time into producing an NFL starter or an Olympic gymnast, there are thousands of families with the exact same goal who piss all that money and energy into a goal that never happens. And I'm not just talking about the kids who never really stood a shot. I'm talking about the really talented, hard working ones who come really close, but don't make it. They finish just out if contention for the Olympic team, they suffer a catastrophic injury playing college ball, they become depressed or develop an anxiety disorder, they are amazing but impossible to work with, they make the practice squad but never advance, the timing works out so their years on contention have too many similar athletes who are a little better, and on and on.

Yes, you are a delusional idiot if you hope your kid is going to make it as a professional athlete. Just because a teeny tiny number of these idiots one day get an NBC Sports feature where they tearfully explain that they always knew their kid would go all the way does not make this any less true.

Are the parents of aspiring doctors, lawyers also idiots?
Many don't make it even though a lot do.

There are WAY more doctors and lawyers in the world than professional athletes. This is a stupid comparison. But actually I do think it's dumb to *focus* on your kid becoming a doctor or a lawyer. The good news is that if you encourage your kid to do well at school and support them in that, they could decide along the way to do something less ambitious and be fine. You can aspire to be a lawyer and wind up a paralegal and actually that's a perfectly good career. You can plan on becoming a doctor, realize you don't have the work ethic but still love medicine and science, and wind up working in a research lab, or in another career in the medical profession without spending years of your life and racking up loans in med school.

But making "professional soccer player" your aim has no good, lesser option you can bail out for if it turns out you don't have what it takes (and the vast majority of people don't). Sure, you can coach soccer. But that's a crap career, and also, if you never played professionally you are unlikely to get any of the best coaching jobs or ever be paid particularly well (whereas if you become a paralegal instead of a lawyer, you can still go on to work at the top law firms in the world, for instance).

Pinning your hopes on your kid beating a billion to one odds is just dumb. Not saying don't encourage them to try their hardest, do travel soccer, try and make their varsity team in high school, maybe even pursue it in college. Just saying that making pro athlete/Olympian your express goal is more likely to result in disappointment, failure, and family dysfunction than not. A lot more likely, actually.

You obviously don't know that the years of discipline and work ethic pays off even in the corporate world if you don't make it to top Pro
Not to mention the network.

Where can we find all these failed soccer players fighting pigeons for crumbs in the park?

You don't get it. No one is saying to discourage your kid from working hard and dedicated themselves to soccer. No one. This is the soccer forum. Presumably most people in here have kids in soccer and want them to do their best. The question is whether YOUR hope for them would be to become a professional player. And my point is that it does not make sense for a parent to make this their hope or goal. It's fine if it's your kids' goal and it's fine to support them in it. But your job is to be more level headed and make sure they have a backup plan so if it doesn't happen (and it probably won't), they can channel all their dedication and work ethic into something else.

The fact that you are SO MAD about this suggestion that parents should avoid making this a personal goal for their kids indicates to me that you are precisely the kind of parent who could stand to think a bit more expansively about your kids' future, in soccer and out of it.

Luckily for us, we have you who's guiding your kid to bringing peace in the middle east, or curing cancer and the common cold.
Without making any of them a goal of course.
It's better without direction and motivation.

[Anonymous]

You all are overthinking this.

My neighbor’s daughter was a pro soccer player.

For a few years. Now, she’s done and going to further (post-college) school for a new career.

Seems like it worked out just fine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No, this is a stupid goal for your children. If someone told me this was their hope for their kid, I would assume they were a deluded, terrible parent, and there is a 99.999% chance I'd be right.

If they happened to be in the .001% that proved me wrong, more power to them.

But they wouldn't be! Your kids will not be pro soccer players, and even if they were, they would probably be middling and make terrible money while risking some kind of injury and squandering opportunities to do literally anything else with their lives.

So the parents of every NBA, MLB, NFL, NHL, Olympian, Indy Driver, Jockey etc etc etc are Delusional Idiots?

Unless they were successful pro athletes themselves, yes. For every family who pours their money and time into producing an NFL starter or an Olympic gymnast, there are thousands of families with the exact same goal who piss all that money and energy into a goal that never happens. And I'm not just talking about the kids who never really stood a shot. I'm talking about the really talented, hard working ones who come really close, but don't make it. They finish just out if contention for the Olympic team, they suffer a catastrophic injury playing college ball, they become depressed or develop an anxiety disorder, they are amazing but impossible to work with, they make the practice squad but never advance, the timing works out so their years on contention have too many similar athletes who are a little better, and on and on.

Yes, you are a delusional idiot if you hope your kid is going to make it as a professional athlete. Just because a teeny tiny number of these idiots one day get an NBC Sports feature where they tearfully explain that they always knew their kid would go all the way does not make this any less true.

Are the parents of aspiring doctors, lawyers also idiots?
Many don't make it even though a lot do.

There are WAY more doctors and lawyers in the world than professional athletes. This is a stupid comparison. But actually I do think it's dumb to *focus* on your kid becoming a doctor or a lawyer. The good news is that if you encourage your kid to do well at school and support them in that, they could decide along the way to do something less ambitious and be fine. You can aspire to be a lawyer and wind up a paralegal and actually that's a perfectly good career. You can plan on becoming a doctor, realize you don't have the work ethic but still love medicine and science, and wind up working in a research lab, or in another career in the medical profession without spending years of your life and racking up loans in med school.

But making "professional soccer player" your aim has no good, lesser option you can bail out for if it turns out you don't have what it takes (and the vast majority of people don't). Sure, you can coach soccer. But that's a crap career, and also, if you never played professionally you are unlikely to get any of the best coaching jobs or ever be paid particularly well (whereas if you become a paralegal instead of a lawyer, you can still go on to work at the top law firms in the world, for instance).

Pinning your hopes on your kid beating a billion to one odds is just dumb. Not saying don't encourage them to try their hardest, do travel soccer, try and make their varsity team in high school, maybe even pursue it in college. Just saying that making pro athlete/Olympian your express goal is more likely to result in disappointment, failure, and family dysfunction than not. A lot more likely, actually.

You obviously don't know that the years of discipline and work ethic pays off even in the corporate world if you don't make it to top Pro
Not to mention the network.

Where can we find all these failed soccer players fighting pigeons for crumbs in the park?

You don't get it. No one is saying to discourage your kid from working hard and dedicated themselves to soccer. No one. This is the soccer forum. Presumably most people in here have kids in soccer and want them to do their best. The question is whether YOUR hope for them would be to become a professional player. And my point is that it does not make sense for a parent to make this their hope or goal. It's fine if it's your kids' goal and it's fine to support them in it. But your job is to be more level headed and make sure they have a backup plan so if it doesn't happen (and it probably won't), they can channel all their dedication and work ethic into something else.

The fact that you are SO MAD about this suggestion that parents should avoid making this a personal goal for their kids indicates to me that you are precisely the kind of parent who could stand to think a bit more expansively about your kids' future, in soccer and out of it.

Luckily for us, we have you who's guiding your kid to bringing peace in the middle east, or curing cancer and the common cold.
Without making any of them a goal of course.
It's better without direction and motivation.

OP asked a question. I answered it. Do whatever you want with your kid. The fact that you are this defensive about indicates you are a lot less confident about it than you claim to be.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No, this is a stupid goal for your children. If someone told me this was their hope for their kid, I would assume they were a deluded, terrible parent, and there is a 99.999% chance I'd be right.

If they happened to be in the .001% that proved me wrong, more power to them.

But they wouldn't be! Your kids will not be pro soccer players, and even if they were, they would probably be middling and make terrible money while risking some kind of injury and squandering opportunities to do literally anything else with their lives.

So the parents of every NBA, MLB, NFL, NHL, Olympian, Indy Driver, Jockey etc etc etc are Delusional Idiots?

Unless they were successful pro athletes themselves, yes. For every family who pours their money and time into producing an NFL starter or an Olympic gymnast, there are thousands of families with the exact same goal who piss all that money and energy into a goal that never happens. And I'm not just talking about the kids who never really stood a shot. I'm talking about the really talented, hard working ones who come really close, but don't make it. They finish just out if contention for the Olympic team, they suffer a catastrophic injury playing college ball, they become depressed or develop an anxiety disorder, they are amazing but impossible to work with, they make the practice squad but never advance, the timing works out so their years on contention have too many similar athletes who are a little better, and on and on.

Yes, you are a delusional idiot if you hope your kid is going to make it as a professional athlete. Just because a teeny tiny number of these idiots one day get an NBC Sports feature where they tearfully explain that they always knew their kid would go all the way does not make this any less true.

Are the parents of aspiring doctors, lawyers also idiots?
Many don't make it even though a lot do.

There are WAY more doctors and lawyers in the world than professional athletes. This is a stupid comparison. But actually I do think it's dumb to *focus* on your kid becoming a doctor or a lawyer. The good news is that if you encourage your kid to do well at school and support them in that, they could decide along the way to do something less ambitious and be fine. You can aspire to be a lawyer and wind up a paralegal and actually that's a perfectly good career. You can plan on becoming a doctor, realize you don't have the work ethic but still love medicine and science, and wind up working in a research lab, or in another career in the medical profession without spending years of your life and racking up loans in med school.

But making "professional soccer player" your aim has no good, lesser option you can bail out for if it turns out you don't have what it takes (and the vast majority of people don't). Sure, you can coach soccer. But that's a crap career, and also, if you never played professionally you are unlikely to get any of the best coaching jobs or ever be paid particularly well (whereas if you become a paralegal instead of a lawyer, you can still go on to work at the top law firms in the world, for instance).

Pinning your hopes on your kid beating a billion to one odds is just dumb. Not saying don't encourage them to try their hardest, do travel soccer, try and make their varsity team in high school, maybe even pursue it in college. Just saying that making pro athlete/Olympian your express goal is more likely to result in disappointment, failure, and family dysfunction than not. A lot more likely, actually.

You obviously don't know that the years of discipline and work ethic pays off even in the corporate world if you don't make it to top Pro
Not to mention the network.

Where can we find all these failed soccer players fighting pigeons for crumbs in the park?

You don't get it. No one is saying to discourage your kid from working hard and dedicated themselves to soccer. No one. This is the soccer forum. Presumably most people in here have kids in soccer and want them to do their best. The question is whether YOUR hope for them would be to become a professional player. And my point is that it does not make sense for a parent to make this their hope or goal. It's fine if it's your kids' goal and it's fine to support them in it. But your job is to be more level headed and make sure they have a backup plan so if it doesn't happen (and it probably won't), they can channel all their dedication and work ethic into something else.

The fact that you are SO MAD about this suggestion that parents should avoid making this a personal goal for their kids indicates to me that you are precisely the kind of parent who could stand to think a bit more expansively about your kids' future, in soccer and out of it.

Luckily for us, we have you who's guiding your kid to bringing peace in the middle east, or curing cancer and the common cold.
Without making any of them a goal of course.
It's better without direction and motivation.

OP asked a question. I answered it. Do whatever you want with your kid. The fact that you are this defensive about indicates you are a lot less confident about it than you claim to be.

Reading the PPs, what is someone claiming that I missed?

[Anonymous]

I'm not sure why you all don't support anyone who loved making money from what they love to do all day? Is it better to have a desk job you hate making the same amount as something you love? Why would you not want your kid to be as happy as they could be? It's their choice really. I think everyone should have free will in deciding what kind of life they want to have as an adult. Until then I'd hope that I instilled my kid enough confidence to focus on what their passion is. You suck at what you hate to do that's a fact.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm not sure why you all don't support anyone who loved making money from what they love to do all day? Is it better to have a desk job you hate making the same amount as something you love? Why would you not want your kid to be as happy as they could be? It's their choice really. I think everyone should have free will in deciding what kind of life they want to have as an adult. Until then I'd hope that I instilled my kid enough confidence to focus on what their passion is. You suck at what you hate to do that's a fact.

I want my kid to hate Sunday nights trying to figure out a reason to call out on Monday morning for their 8-6 job 😊