shorthairman
★★★★★ Legendary Member
I think it is going to be very interesting to see what happens with HS sports going into the future. There could be and are multiple factors for coaches getting out of coaching, and unfortunately many good coaches give it up because of parents.
One of the problems that I see is that parents think because they pay to send their kids to camps, or to have their kid get on some AAU/traveling team that that means their kid is good. Don't get me wrong, some of these kids are good, but many times if a parent is willing to pay the money, the kid will get to be on the team. Parents then translate that to the HS team "well my little Johnny played AAU so they should be a starter for the HS team." Then when little Johnny isn't a starter and they dished out a few thousand bucks for him to play they feel entitled and who gets blamed?? The HS coach.
Next is the subject of sport specialization. Little Johnny only focuses on playing that one sport so he is way more dedicated than those other guys who don't play that sport all year around. Again, because he is "so dedicated" he should be a starter...
I highly encourage that if any of you have kids in sports, do not specialize them...There is nothing wrong with your kid having a favorite sport or a main sport. That is the sport they want to focus on, or have the most success in, or maybe get a college scholarship in. Many studies have been, and are being done, to show that sport specialization can be/is detrimental to the athlete. First of all, repetitive motions done multiple times a day over the course of many months or years can lead to potentially serious overuse injuries. Second, athletes only become "athletic" in the movements associated with their sport. So they do not develop reflexes, muscle movements, strength, coordination, etc. outside of that sports specific movements.
If your kid is good enough to get a college scholarship in a sport, often times that college coach also wants to know how good of an overall athlete your kid is and will want to know what other sports they were involved in.
One of the problems that I see is that parents think because they pay to send their kids to camps, or to have their kid get on some AAU/traveling team that that means their kid is good. Don't get me wrong, some of these kids are good, but many times if a parent is willing to pay the money, the kid will get to be on the team. Parents then translate that to the HS team "well my little Johnny played AAU so they should be a starter for the HS team." Then when little Johnny isn't a starter and they dished out a few thousand bucks for him to play they feel entitled and who gets blamed?? The HS coach.
Next is the subject of sport specialization. Little Johnny only focuses on playing that one sport so he is way more dedicated than those other guys who don't play that sport all year around. Again, because he is "so dedicated" he should be a starter...
I highly encourage that if any of you have kids in sports, do not specialize them...There is nothing wrong with your kid having a favorite sport or a main sport. That is the sport they want to focus on, or have the most success in, or maybe get a college scholarship in. Many studies have been, and are being done, to show that sport specialization can be/is detrimental to the athlete. First of all, repetitive motions done multiple times a day over the course of many months or years can lead to potentially serious overuse injuries. Second, athletes only become "athletic" in the movements associated with their sport. So they do not develop reflexes, muscle movements, strength, coordination, etc. outside of that sports specific movements.
If your kid is good enough to get a college scholarship in a sport, often times that college coach also wants to know how good of an overall athlete your kid is and will want to know what other sports they were involved in.