Over confient
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Anonymous
| Dc wants to play his sport in his very competitive hs. I think my dc is awesome but I am also objective about his current skill level. I keep suggesting he get some individual coaching but he is refusing and saying he wants to work on his own. I know other kids trying out are getting extra assistance. Is this oneof those times where I just have to quietly watch and hope I am wrong? I don't want him to be disappointed but feel helpless. |
Anonymous
You can't protect him from life. He's in high school. Let him experience a disappointment. |
Anonymous
| Why would you deprive him of learning a valuable life lesson about self-awareness and limitations? |
Anonymous
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We watched a couple kids in our neighborhood go through this.
One talked big and practiced on his own like Pistol Pete (hour after hour) but wouldn't attend camps or get coaching. Eventually, he wrote his college essay on the idea that he knew he wasn't going anywhere in basketball, he just really liked to knock around with a basketball in MS, and how that was different from truly going all in and doing everything he could to improve like he did academically in HS. The other kid was very different. He pretty much did everything he could. He practiced in the front yard, went to camps and played on several teams in MS. He came home from the first day of HS basketball practice as a freshman and announced he wanted to quit. When his parents asked why, he said that the coach had moved him up to the 2nd varsity team to scrimmage with the starters. Eventually, he explained that at 6' 6" tall he was the only player taller than 6' on the varsity. Thinking this was a good thing, his parents were confused. He explained that the team was playing "small ball" and that the only reason he was there was to mimic other teams big guy during practice. His parents made him stick it out but he did very little extra anymore. Eventually his parents asked his former personal coach and he confirmed that it was unlikely he would ever play because the HS team was in such a competitive region and all the other guys had such different skills. He went on to play Division 3 in college after riding the pine for 4 years in HS. |
Anonymous
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HS sports is the 1st time you realize you are either really good or not that great.
If he is really good, great. If he is not that great, it a good time to figure that out. My sons go to a Catholic school with really competitive sports. Kids get cut and they learn to move on. It's a good lesson. One friend was cut as a freshman, kept up with his club team and starts as a senior on Varsity One friend was cut as a sophomore and changed sports and is a top competitor in that sport. One kid got cut and then told the coach he was lonely and depressed since his mom died could he just practice with the team and ride the pine.... so he did and he made a bunch of friends and went in when we were killing another team. Sports is not about winning, losing, getting college scholarships. It's about life... sometimes you are the bat, sometimes you are the ball. |
Anonymous
Years ago I saw a poll of college coaches who were asked what they thought held high school basketball players back the most. The top answer was something like "an inability to honestly assess their strengths and weaknesses and accept critical feedback." Individual coaching can make an enormous difference, but kids have to want the trainer's knowledge to benefit from it, and they have to put aside what they think is fun and looks cool and do what the trainer says. Most kids can't do it, which is why many athletic kids who spend a lot of time "practicing" basketball don't improve and don't make their high school teams. I used to have a coach whose mantra was "principle over personality." If your DC can't buy into that, then a trainer won't help much. |
Anonymous
This made me teary. Thats an honest kid and a kind coach right there. |