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I would not allow my child to continue to play basketball, but would help him find another sport. One of our daughter's friends had a bad head injury and was advised not to play contact sports ever again. She took up golf and ended up on a Division I golf scholarship...
This is a good point. I wonder if it is easier for girls to be flexible enough to take up another sport or activity, because of a point another poster made about sports being a boy's identity. I am talking more about how boys and men are wired as opposed to a males=sports "nuts" or jocks stereotype.
Because of his size and build. He'll be able to swim, play golf and tennis, maybe soccer but for him that will just be recreational. He's an offensive lineman, that is what he was best at, and he might have been able to do very well. His injury threatens that future.
This is the mindset that hinders children from being able to be well rounded and have an identity separate from their sports. Would you really risk your son's health for him to retain an identity that won't likely carry him past high school or college? Then they are just lost when they are washed up and don't know who they are.
There are a lot of high school football players in the country who are very good. One of my high school boyfriends got a full scholarship to a top football university that produces many NFL players. His knee was TRASHED in his sophomore year. They beef them up to the point their joints take a toll under the weight. If your son already has a serious leg injury, you really need to think about his identity extending outside of his football abilities so he's not lost when it all falls apart. There are many futures that don't involve professional sports.
Not saying this is the case but many times the families of these high school athletes are dreaming of the day they will be rich and can live off the income of their sons. They are loathe to do anything which might ruin that dream lifestyle they so long for and don't think about the health and longterm future of the young person. That is exploitation in the worst way.
Not saying this is the case but many times the families of these high school athletes are dreaming of the day they will be rich and can live off the income of their sons. They are loathe to do anything which might ruin that dream lifestyle they so long for and don't think about the health and longterm future of the young person. That is exploitation in the worst way.
This post expresses the first thing that came to my mind when I read the OP. I hope he doesn't have any younger siblings.
I thought high school athletes had to have a physical before they were allowed to play sports. I know they do here. I wonder if that means that the parents and the coaches decided to ignore the doctor's advice. Somebody needed to be that child's advocate and prevent him from playing, if the doctor said it could lead to death.
The mother is quoted in the story as saying, "he died doing what he loved." That almost sounds like, "we didn't raise our son to think he would have a life outside of basketball and we can't imagine him succeeding at something else, so we decided to go ahead and let him die this way." What a waste of a life!
I know a mom of a football player that has a heart condition. She bragged that doctors had said early on he should not play school sports but look at her son defying them. That's true spirit.
I shake my head as if a doctor and a second opinion gave me the whys of not being able to play in sports, I would heed medical advice. It's isn't worth it to me to lose a child to "prove" them wrong. It's one thing to hear you will never walk again and walk. It's another when you have a birth defect with your heart (or something other don't know the details) and still play. I pray and hope for their sake that their son doesn't become a statistic.
Not saying this is the case but many times the families of these high school athletes are dreaming of the day they will be rich and can live off the income of their sons. They are loathe to do anything which might ruin that dream lifestyle they so long for and don't think about the health and longterm future of the young person. That is exploitation in the worst way.
That dream of sports fame is deep. Do they know how many children are great at sports, compared with how many grow up to be pro athletes? I think a lot of coaches have this attitude.
Location: Huntersville/Charlotte, NC and Washington, DC
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jackmccullough
What the hell is wrong with that "sports academy" that allowed him to play with that condition?
Obviously the story is short, and it's possible they didn't know, but if was the height of irresponsibility for anyone who knew the kid had such a condition to allow him to play, whether it was the team he was on, the coach, or the parents.
We can feel bad for the parents, certainly, but if it turns out that they were complicit because they knew about the condition and didn't tell his coach and the administration of his team, or otherwise did nothing to prevent him from playing, they are at fault.
There is no way any academy in its right mind would have let him play as lawsuit happy as parents are today. I think your last paragraph is what happened.
Because of his size and build. He'll be able to swim, play golf and tennis, maybe soccer but for him that will just be recreational. He's an offensive lineman, that is what he was best at, and he might have been able to do very well. His injury threatens that future.
This is the mindset that hinders children from being able to be well rounded and have an identity separate from their sports. Would you really risk your son's health for him to retain an identity that won't likely carry him past high school or college? Then they are just lost when they are washed up and don't know who they are.
There are a lot of high school football players in the country who are very good. One of my high school boyfriends got a full scholarship to a top football university that produces many NFL players. His knee was TRASHED in his sophomore year. They beef them up to the point their joints take a toll under the weight. If your son already has a serious leg injury, you really need to think about his identity extending outside of his football abilities so he's not lost when it all falls apart. There are many futures that don't involve professional sports.
Quote:
Originally Posted by no kudzu
Not saying this is the case but many times the families of these high school athletes are dreaming of the day they will be rich and can live off the income of their sons. They are loathe to do anything which might ruin that dream lifestyle they so long for and don't think about the health and longterm future of the young person. That is exploitation in the worst way.
I would like to thank you and no kudzu for your concern, but it is somewhat hyperbolic, overblown and unnecessary. I am no stage parent, and neither is my wife. We are both former elite athletes - her a Division I basketball player and record-setting track athlete, me a former Division I lineman. I later became involved in wrestling, bjj and other grappling sports and ended up competing at an international level. I also tried out for an NFL team a couple years after graduating from college, but did not make it. My father also played football at an elite level before there were many African Americans in Division I college football.
I am very much aware of how sports work in this society. I have been at the highest levels and have seen the game from the perspective of a writer, administrator and athlete. There are a lot of bad people and corporate entities in sports, and it is a truly Darwinian, unforgiving enterprise. However, I can tell you that there is nothing like the feeling and camaraderie that comes from competing, especially in a sport like football, and everyone knows that doing well in that sport, as well as many other sports, can lead to a high-level education and, for that very lucky few, a lucrative few years in the professional ranks that can set an athlete up financially for life. My son just turned 16. He is 6-3, 300 pounds and rapidly growing. He is naturally strong, especially in the legs, and has the prototypical build for a high-level offensive guard. If he grows a few more inches, he could be the size of an NFL tackle. Coaches and kids from our school and neighboring ones call him "The Blind Side," and he is much like the NFL tackle Michael Oher in his presence and calm demeanor, except he lives with his own mom and dad and was not adopted by Sandra Bullock. He won't be beefing up at any school. If anything, they'll be making sure he doesn't get too big.
As I said, he was badly injured this spring and has to sit out his junior year football and wrestling seasons. This certainly hinders his prospects to get noticed by college scouts. If he is allowed to play football, he will do so next year and try to get some chance to get a scholarship. You do know how expensive college is nowadays, right?
In response to your uninformed speculation about exploitation, we will not need my son's money to give us a "dream lifestyle." While we are not rich, we are quite functional, living a solid middle-class existence in one of the most affluent towns in one of the wealthiest states in the country. We send our children to one of the top school districts in the nation, and we expect a high level of character and achievement on all fronts. That the boys have responded positively to this has already yielded for their parents that "dream lifestyle."
My middle son is a gifted athlete, but he is also of keen intelligence. He doesn't stand out academically in this extremely competitive high school, but his grades and SAT scores are solid. He is academically qualified for any school, and possibly could get into the same Ivy League university that I graduated from. Even if he doesn't play football or wrestle in college, he is well-rounded and knowledgeable about many subjects. His parents made sure of that, and that he is ready to survive in this world as a morally sound, productive adult. If he never plays another down of football, he will be OK.
Our two other sons are not athletic, though the youngest plays recreational sports and loves them. He is creative, artistic and inclined to be a math and science nerd. If he doesn't play any sport in high school, we will still love and support him in any way we can.
Exploitation? I don't think so.
Last edited by Lucario; 10-30-2013 at 12:56 PM..
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