I completely agree with this advice. I was a more talented athlete, and my parent's overfocus on my sport was too much pressure for me. Plus, it had a long-term negative impact on my relationship with my sibling, who felt slighted. You have to teach your kids that a parent's love and support are unconditional, not performance-based. |
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OP please listen to this person above who has been where your athlete son is now. Your DH is setting up terrible dynamics for the rest of all your kids' lives. You, OP, are the only one in a position to see that, and to intervene. If you don't intervene, well, go back and read the post above and you'll see what happens. This all affects relationships LONG after the athlete's playing career is finished. |
No offense dude...but you why can't you write one initial thread that has all the relevant facts so maybe people can offer some decent advice? What you said before did have a major disconnect...it is only when you mention the injury that things hold together. It sounds like your kid will be able to secure an offer from a school that fits their athletic and academic interests, so the fact that he currently has three that do not are irrelevant. I don't honestly even know what you are complaining about. Is your kid upset by this behavior? In theory, this will all be over very soon, when your kid finally commits to a school? Or will your wife start talking about NIL money and immediately talk about the transfer portal even before your kid has stepped on campus? |
| Just another perspective. I played a D1 sport and a girl on my team (and my roommate) had parents who obsessed over her sports career. She was an only child and they put all their time and a lot of money for her to train in Florida and go pro. She was on that track, but mentally she was a mess. Severely bulimic and always working out. So much pressure, she ended up not continuing in the sport. |
Divorce him |
BS. That’s petty as F. That’s like saying every Olympic athlete had a petty insecure sibling who refused to celebrate or nurture their sibling’s freakishly good god-given talents. So fake. |
No they’re not. Glad you brought up the word “valid.” Because everyone’s dreams and aspirations are not always valid. A parents job is to MATCH each of their kids’s abilities, talents, passion and strengths to a positive career or productive use of life. Do you match your 3.0 kid to a surgeon track? Probably not. Do you match your 24/7 robotics kid to a stem program or a frat school business program? Do you match your outlier shooter & ball handler kid with AAU basketball or keep them in rec forever? Do you make your get kid do theater design or join the swim team? These are all adult parenting decisions. Sure you bolster their confidence and tell them “they can do whatever they set their mind and efforts to.” And to stick to something a long time, not flit around. But you also have to match their skills and abilities along the way. That builds interaction motivation and confidence. Very few children are intrinsically motivated and maniacal about practicing anything. If they do have one thing and like to do it, and show constant progress, nurture that. |
You should have put the pressure to improve on yourself. You didn’t, then your parents did, and you quit. You were going to quit either way. Wasted talent is hard to sit back and watch, but happens all the time. Think of all the super smart or super unique or super athletic kids or adults you know…. Who never apply themselves. |
I bet that is exactly how Venus williams, tiger woods, stephen curry and Caitlyn clark’s dads handled it too. Or any of the other 1000s of top D1 athletes’ families. |
Is that supposedly Troll Op above? Now coming back with new Version 3 of the situation? And now is supposed some insecure male dad posting on DCUM?! With a supposedly recruited then injured then recruited son?! What a lame troll. |
Very small % of scholar athletes or college athletes flame out like that. |
That’s not true. Many do. |
Ah didn't see that part. Sorry. If you are a star athlete , depending on the sports all you need is a B and if you are truly a star any college ranked academically from 1 to x will take you. Again it depends on the sports and your talent. Usually these star athletes are truly special. I don't think people realize how gifted some people are whether it's sports, academics etc. |
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My 14 years son is a ranked fencer. I don't have any expectations for him to get a D1 scholarship. In fact the likelihood is around 1% to be honest. Fencing at the competitive level is very expensive and not a good return on investment if you want your child to get a sports scholarship. If your child is an athlete and you obsessively want them to get a D1 scholarship and they are talented then go for baseball basketball or football.
I never put pressure on my son. There are kids at his club who invest 5 times in terms of money and other efforts and yet they have achieved far less than my son..these teens look stressed. Their parents look stressed. It's depressing to watch. My son loves fencing and he started doing for fun and the results came along. His coach wants him to train and more and harder but I have put a stop to it. If he gets to 16 or so and he chooses to then fine. Otherwise he should enjoy his childhood and be a kid. Some parents are just crazy when it comes to sports. And very often these parents are failed athletes themselves or just delusional. I was a soccer player and had a 4 years scholarship to play in college. I wanted my son to play a soccer as well. But he hated it so much and I just let it be. Please please don't force any sports and put any pressure on your child. If they are talented everything will happens naturally. They will be hungry for excellence themselves. |