Does anyone hate how competitive the world has become?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:White people are obsessed with team sports and “teamwork”

I'm white and American and while I enjoy watching certain team sports, I don't enjoy playing them and in general find team atmosphere stifling and cultish. My kid is the same (apples, trees) and has never played more than one season of any sport. She dors art, ballet, piano, and also swims for pleasure (did not like competitive swim despite doing well). It's fine and she has lots of friends and good grades.

I don't understand American patents who are obsessed with youth sports. If course some kids live it and you should support that but I don't get why some parents think a kid can't be successful in life if they don't excel in sports.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am Asian and in my circle of Asian friends, nobody cares about having their kids play soccer, football, or basketball. We only care about golf or tennis. That is because most, not all Asians, consider soccer, football, and basketball a low class, while it takes a lot of money to get good at golf or tennis.

If you look at the golf and tennis roster at Langley, McLean, Oakton HS, they are mostly Asians.

Not just Asians. No one with very smart kids that have a bright academic future without a sports scholarship is putting their kid into football or basketball

What about track & field?

Are asians just avoiding sports with athletic, well-trained Black kids?

No they focus on life long sports with no favoritism

Most people and kids do both. A team sport and then swim well, play racquet sports, etc. Some are social like skiing, tennis, summer swim, others are skill and profession based, like the kids primary team or individual sport.

Big social and leadership aspect to team sports.

My EU husband was shocked at a high school football game- I forced him to watch the loud SJC fun games - when he realized the varsity team was 80 players! How fun is that to start fall semester training and getting to know that many friends and players on offense, defense, special teams! Closest things girls have to a big team is lax.

[Anonymous]

*progress based

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am Asian and in my circle of Asian friends, nobody cares about having their kids play soccer, football, or basketball. We only care about golf or tennis. That is because most, not all Asians, consider soccer, football, and basketball a low class, while it takes a lot of money to get good at golf or tennis.

If you look at the golf and tennis roster at Langley, McLean, Oakton HS, they are mostly Asians.

My Indian friend says they all choose tennis or golf because you can direct the coach and training times and not mess around with teams, fields, and others.

Or swim because the young Asian friend follow directions so much and do the daily training.

Then there are all the violin and piano kids.

This is true. Tennis is an independent sport. You have control over your practice and tournament schedule. Plus you don’t have to interact with annoying suburban mothers

+1

The same with golf. You do not need to rely on anyone and to avoid annoying parents. In golf and tennis, coaches can not cut you from the team due to favoritism and nepotism because it shows up in the tryout results.

Yes we know; it’s not a team ball sport.

Is that the magic catch for Asian and SE Asian families?

So when people are tossing around "Asian" do they just mean recent immigrants?
And really can you tell?

My Asian kids aren't into team sport much to the chagrin of DH who is naturally athletic and has been pretty much awesome at any sport he tried. He's been pushing soccer and other team sports since they were little kids only to have them decide that they wanted more independent activities, like my DD liking to run but after trying track, she decided to run 5Ks by herself instead.

I forced them into marching band (and yes it's not a sport, blah, blah, blah) but they love the teamwork aspect of it now. We don't all flee from teamwork.

We can always tell their family culture when they do hours of tutoring a week to be ahead in math.

Don’t always make assumptions like this. My Asian kids do math tutoring so they can do well on grade level math!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:White people are obsessed with team sports and “teamwork”

I'm white and American and while I enjoy watching certain team sports, I don't enjoy playing them and in general find team atmosphere stifling and cultish. My kid is the same (apples, trees) and has never played more than one season of any sport. She dors art, ballet, piano, and also swims for pleasure (did not like competitive swim despite doing well). It's fine and she has lots of friends and good grades.

I don't understand American patents who are obsessed with youth sports. If course some kids live it and you should support that but I don't get why some parents think a kid can't be successful in life if they don't excel in sports.

Probably because the parents enjoyed sports and feel that it helped them succeed. Parents usually try to relive their childhood through their own kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:White people are obsessed with team sports and “teamwork”

I'm white and American and while I enjoy watching certain team sports, I don't enjoy playing them and in general find team atmosphere stifling and cultish. My kid is the same (apples, trees) and has never played more than one season of any sport. She dors art, ballet, piano, and also swims for pleasure (did not like competitive swim despite doing well). It's fine and she has lots of friends and good grades.

I don't understand American patents who are obsessed with youth sports. If course some kids live it and you should support that but I don't get why some parents think a kid can't be successful in life if they don't excel in sports.

Guess what! Not every family playing and doing well in sports are “obsessed”.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am Asian and in my circle of Asian friends, nobody cares about having their kids play soccer, football, or basketball. We only care about golf or tennis. That is because most, not all Asians, consider soccer, football, and basketball a low class, while it takes a lot of money to get good at golf or tennis.

If you look at the golf and tennis roster at Langley, McLean, Oakton HS, they are mostly Asians.

My Indian friend says they all choose tennis or golf because you can direct the coach and training times and not mess around with teams, fields, and others.

Or swim because the young Asian friend follow directions so much and do the daily training.

Then there are all the violin and piano kids.

This is true. Tennis is an independent sport. You have control over your practice and tournament schedule. Plus you don’t have to interact with annoying suburban mothers

+1

The same with golf. You do not need to rely on anyone and to avoid annoying parents. In golf and tennis, coaches can not cut you from the team due to favoritism and nepotism because it shows up in the tryout results.

Yes we know; it’s not a team ball sport.

Is that the magic catch for Asian and SE Asian families?

So when people are tossing around "Asian" do they just mean recent immigrants?
And really can you tell?

My Asian kids aren't into team sport much to the chagrin of DH who is naturally athletic and has been pretty much awesome at any sport he tried. He's been pushing soccer and other team sports since they were little kids only to have them decide that they wanted more independent activities, like my DD liking to run but after trying track, she decided to run 5Ks by herself instead.

I forced them into marching band (and yes it's not a sport, blah, blah, blah) but they love the teamwork aspect of it now. We don't all flee from teamwork.

We can always tell their family culture when they do hours of tutoring a week to be ahead in math.

Don’t always make assumptions like this. My Asian kids do math tutoring so they can do well on grade level math!

Same thing. Unless LDs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am Asian and in my circle of Asian friends, nobody cares about having their kids play soccer, football, or basketball. We only care about golf or tennis. That is because most, not all Asians, consider soccer, football, and basketball a low class, while it takes a lot of money to get good at golf or tennis.

If you look at the golf and tennis roster at Langley, McLean, Oakton HS, they are mostly Asians.

Not just Asians. No one with very smart kids that have a bright academic future without a sports scholarship is putting their kid into football or basketball

What about track & field?

Are asians just avoiding sports with athletic, well-trained Black kids?

No they focus on life long sports with no favoritism

Running is a life long sport

There are so many Asian kids who run cross country. I really wonder who these clowns posting are. They must not get out much. Just because their kid doesn’t play these sports doesn’t mean other Asian kids are not.

I also like to run and there are plenty of Asians who run 5ks and marathons. Sure, we are not finishing first but that doesn’t mean we are not running.

[Anonymous]

You yuppies need to relax

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am Asian and in my circle of Asian friends, nobody cares about having their kids play soccer, football, or basketball. We only care about golf or tennis. That is because most, not all Asians, consider soccer, football, and basketball a low class, while it takes a lot of money to get good at golf or tennis.

If you look at the golf and tennis roster at Langley, McLean, Oakton HS, they are mostly Asians.

Not just Asians. No one with very smart kids that have a bright academic future without a sports scholarship is putting their kid into football or basketball

What about track & field?

Are asians just avoiding sports with athletic, well-trained Black kids?

No they focus on life long sports with no favoritism

Running is a life long sport

There are so many Asian kids who run cross country. I really wonder who these clowns posting are. They must not get out much. Just because their kid doesn’t play these sports doesn’t mean other Asian kids are not.

I also like to run and there are plenty of Asians who run 5ks and marathons. Sure, we are not finishing first but that doesn’t mean we are not running.

Yes track and cross country is very popular with Asians and Indians in my kids school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am Asian and in my circle of Asian friends, nobody cares about having their kids play soccer, football, or basketball. We only care about golf or tennis. That is because most, not all Asians, consider soccer, football, and basketball a low class, while it takes a lot of money to get good at golf or tennis.

If you look at the golf and tennis roster at Langley, McLean, Oakton HS, they are mostly Asians.

My Indian friend says they all choose tennis or golf because you can direct the coach and training times and not mess around with teams, fields, and others.

Or swim because the young Asian friend follow directions so much and do the daily training.

Then there are all the violin and piano kids.

This is true. Tennis is an independent sport. You have control over your practice and tournament schedule. Plus you don’t have to interact with annoying suburban mothers

+1

The same with golf. You do not need to rely on anyone and to avoid annoying parents. In golf and tennis, coaches can not cut you from the team due to favoritism and nepotism because it shows up in the tryout results.

Yes we know; it’s not a team ball sport.

Is that the magic catch for Asian and SE Asian families?

So when people are tossing around "Asian" do they just mean recent immigrants?
And really can you tell?

My Asian kids aren't into team sport much to the chagrin of DH who is naturally athletic and has been pretty much awesome at any sport he tried. He's been pushing soccer and other team sports since they were little kids only to have them decide that they wanted more independent activities, like my DD liking to run but after trying track, she decided to run 5Ks by herself instead.

I forced them into marching band (and yes it's not a sport, blah, blah, blah) but they love the teamwork aspect of it now. We don't all flee from teamwork.

We can always tell their family culture when they do hours of tutoring a week to be ahead in math.

Don’t always make assumptions like this. My Asian kids do math tutoring so they can do well on grade level math!

Same thing. Unless LDs.

You have great faith in teachers. I like to support them too, BUT... I think I'm just more realistic. Don't have the funds for private school (seems like the only acceptable way to splurge on your kids education) and some of their teachers are meh.
NP

[Anonymous]

Look, when the WSJ runs an article like this on an Olympic ping pong player...it's hard not to believe this is the thinking of many Asian families and sports:

Lily Zhang is the queen of American table tennis, a six-time national champ and four-time Olympian in the prime of her career. At only 28 years old, the California native can’t help but dream ahead about playing in front of a home crowd at the 2028 Los Angeles Games.

Her parents are less enthused.

“We always try to convince her to stop playing,” says her mother, Linda Liu. “We just want her to have a normal job.”

The irony is that Linda Liu and Bob Zhang helped mold their daughter into a table-tennis star in the first place. Immigrants from China, they wanted to pass down their native country’s national sport to their offspring. So in a cramped Palo Alto apartment, the ping-pong table pulled double duty.

“It was also the dining table,” Lily Zhang says. “We would just put a tablecloth over it and then eat.”

But to her parents, table tennis was an opportunity to enhance her college applications. “If she played at a high level, it would help her get into a good school,” says Liu, her mother.

At age 16, she competed at the 2012 London Games. Though she lost her first match, her parents declared it a resounding victory. “They’re like, OK, you got the Olympics, you got that on your college apps and now you can focus on studies,’ ” Zhang says.

“You already went to the London Olympics,” Liu said at the time. “That is enough.”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Look, when the WSJ runs an article like this on an Olympic ping pong player...it's hard not to believe this is the thinking of many Asian families and sports:

Lily Zhang is the queen of American table tennis, a six-time national champ and four-time Olympian in the prime of her career. At only 28 years old, the California native can’t help but dream ahead about playing in front of a home crowd at the 2028 Los Angeles Games.

Her parents are less enthused.

“We always try to convince her to stop playing,” says her mother, Linda Liu. “We just want her to have a normal job.”

The irony is that Linda Liu and Bob Zhang helped mold their daughter into a table-tennis star in the first place. Immigrants from China, they wanted to pass down their native country’s national sport to their offspring. So in a cramped Palo Alto apartment, the ping-pong table pulled double duty.

“It was also the dining table,” Lily Zhang says. “We would just put a tablecloth over it and then eat.”

But to her parents, table tennis was an opportunity to enhance her college applications. “If she played at a high level, it would help her get into a good school,” says Liu, her mother.

At age 16, she competed at the 2012 London Games. Though she lost her first match, her parents declared it a resounding victory. “They’re like, OK, you got the Olympics, you got that on your college apps and now you can focus on studies,’ ” Zhang says.

“You already went to the London Olympics,” Liu said at the time. “That is enough.”

Ka Ching!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Look, when the WSJ runs an article like this on an Olympic ping pong player...it's hard not to believe this is the thinking of many Asian families and sports:

Lily Zhang is the queen of American table tennis, a six-time national champ and four-time Olympian in the prime of her career. At only 28 years old, the California native can’t help but dream ahead about playing in front of a home crowd at the 2028 Los Angeles Games.

Her parents are less enthused.

“We always try to convince her to stop playing,” says her mother, Linda Liu. “We just want her to have a normal job.”

The irony is that Linda Liu and Bob Zhang helped mold their daughter into a table-tennis star in the first place. Immigrants from China, they wanted to pass down their native country’s national sport to their offspring. So in a cramped Palo Alto apartment, the ping-pong table pulled double duty.

“It was also the dining table,” Lily Zhang says. “We would just put a tablecloth over it and then eat.”

But to her parents, table tennis was an opportunity to enhance her college applications. “If she played at a high level, it would help her get into a good school,” says Liu, her mother.

At age 16, she competed at the 2012 London Games. Though she lost her first match, her parents declared it a resounding victory. “They’re like, OK, you got the Olympics, you got that on your college apps and now you can focus on studies,’ ” Zhang says.

“You already went to the London Olympics,” Liu said at the time. “That is enough.”

I can’t speak for all Asians but most of us consider sports a hobby. I can understand a mother of a 28yo wanting her daughter to get a “real” job and get married.

My son plays tennis at a high level. School is the priority and comes first.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am Asian and in my circle of Asian friends, nobody cares about having their kids play soccer, football, or basketball. We only care about golf or tennis. That is because most, not all Asians, consider soccer, football, and basketball a low class, while it takes a lot of money to get good at golf or tennis.

If you look at the golf and tennis roster at Langley, McLean, Oakton HS, they are mostly Asians.

My Indian friend says they all choose tennis or golf because you can direct the coach and training times and not mess around with teams, fields, and others.

Or swim because the young Asian friend follow directions so much and do the daily training.

Then there are all the violin and piano kids.

This is true. Tennis is an independent sport. You have control over your practice and tournament schedule. Plus you don’t have to interact with annoying suburban mothers

+1

The same with golf. You do not need to rely on anyone and to avoid annoying parents. In golf and tennis, coaches can not cut you from the team due to favoritism and nepotism because it shows up in the tryout results.

Yes we know; it’s not a team ball sport.

Is that the magic catch for Asian and SE Asian families?

So when people are tossing around "Asian" do they just mean recent immigrants?
And really can you tell?

My Asian kids aren't into team sport much to the chagrin of DH who is naturally athletic and has been pretty much awesome at any sport he tried. He's been pushing soccer and other team sports since they were little kids only to have them decide that they wanted more independent activities, like my DD liking to run but after trying track, she decided to run 5Ks by herself instead.

I forced them into marching band (and yes it's not a sport, blah, blah, blah) but they love the teamwork aspect of it now. We don't all flee from teamwork.

Marching band is a varsity sport. Its simply a varsity sport which Fairfax County chooses not to support financially.