Sports in school
My wife just came back from the meeting with the new football coach. He seemed nice, had a good vision, was positive about his philosophy toward kids keeping their grades up, etc. He also handed out the schedule and told the parents that there would be a two week window for parents to plan their vacations during the summer.
What?
I want my son to participate in sports but since when does that mean that we need to let the sport dictate the schedule my family will keep? That got me thinking. Why is sports such a big part of my family's time? We spend more than 4000 a year on sports when you factor in fees, travel, babysitting etc. It's a major investment. Shouldn't we have some say in our child's participation? I guess we do. We can keep them out of it. But then you're the weird Dad that won't let their kids play sports.
I'll accept that there are benefits to participating in sports. Learning to work hard, sacrifice, responsibility, as well as, learning to deal with failure. I am the beneficiary of those benefits. However, the emphasis on success in sports has changed a lot since the days when I played.
I get the feeling that sports are the new reality. It is becoming increasingly acceptable to allow sports to dictate family time. We don't want our kids to lose out on playing time by missing practices. We don't want them to lose out on all the great things that sports has to offer. But at what point do we say enough is enough?
What?
I want my son to participate in sports but since when does that mean that we need to let the sport dictate the schedule my family will keep? That got me thinking. Why is sports such a big part of my family's time? We spend more than 4000 a year on sports when you factor in fees, travel, babysitting etc. It's a major investment. Shouldn't we have some say in our child's participation? I guess we do. We can keep them out of it. But then you're the weird Dad that won't let their kids play sports.
I'll accept that there are benefits to participating in sports. Learning to work hard, sacrifice, responsibility, as well as, learning to deal with failure. I am the beneficiary of those benefits. However, the emphasis on success in sports has changed a lot since the days when I played.
- We had passing league once a week during the summer.
- Summer workouts in the gym were voluntary.
- My brother and I went every day because we wanted to improve.
- We didn't have a "football" class.
- Participation was free unless you traveled to camp with the team in the summer.
- My family went on vacation during the summer and if that conflicted with football - too bad. Family was more important.
I get the feeling that sports are the new reality. It is becoming increasingly acceptable to allow sports to dictate family time. We don't want our kids to lose out on playing time by missing practices. We don't want them to lose out on all the great things that sports has to offer. But at what point do we say enough is enough?
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