To stick it out or to quit (football)? (average, boy, play)
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The OP has indicated this is flag football not tackle.
Correct, flag football, not tackle.
And that brings up a point about The General: he also coaches a competitive tackle football team where about 4 or 5 of his "core" players (ie: the ones who never come out of the flag football games) are on his team. I suspect this flag football team is nothing more than a training ground for these core players for the more competitive tackle football league. The kids, like my son, who aren't part of that tackle football team are simply an afterthought.
It's just a really frustrating situation and I'm so thankful to have found a new team that is a better fit for my son. Probably a win/win for everyone - my son gets to actually play football and The General now can focus on those core kids of his for his tackle football league. No need to "bother" with my son.
I decided to send The General a short and non-confrontational email letting him know my son would no longer be on his team due to his inability to adhere to the league's mandated rotational guidelines. I also let the league commissioner know and pressed him to reconsider allowing The General to coach in their youth league going forward.
The General's response? "Thanks for letting me know."
What exactly is your definition of non-confrontational?
What exactly is your definition of non-confrontational?
I didn't attack him personally, his coaching style, his antics on the field....I simply indicated that it did not seem that my son had a place on his team evidenced by his lack of playing time. I wished him well.
These coaches who are shepherding little children while pretending they are coaching a Super Bowl event just drive me mad. I get angry too! For them ,it is all about themselves, and the children, save for those few who are heading to the NFL (sic), get little to nothing out of it. Their answer, of course, is that life is competitive and we all have to strive to win.
Sometimes it is about living, and growing, and winning can take a back seat to simply having the satisfaction of enjoying some genuine fun.
These coaches who are shepherding little children while pretending they are coaching a Super Bowl event just drive me mad. I get angry too! For them ,it is all about themselves, and the children, save for those few who are heading to the NFL (sic), get little to nothing out of it. Their answer, of course, is that life is competitive and we all have to strive to win.
Sometimes it is about living, and growing, and winning can take a back seat to simply having the satisfaction of enjoying some genuine fun.
Exactly. His motto was "Let your children own both their successes and failures" - my rebuttal to that was always that my son can't succeed or fail if he's standing on the sideline! Never voiced that to him and maybe I should have. But in the end, it wouldn't have mattered.
I actually feel sorry for The General's son. He was a great little kid, very positive and easy going and The General would berate him loudly during each practice and game. At the end of the last game when our team was getting blown out by 30, another kid was getting screamed at by The General and he lost it......just threw the ball down on the ground and cried his eyes out in an "I can't take this any more" fashion. I felt sick to my stomach for him and his parents. These are 6 and 7 year old children.
Exactly. His motto was "Let your children own both their successes and failures" - my rebuttal to that was always that my son can't succeed or fail if he's standing on the sideline! Never voiced that to him and maybe I should have. But in the end, it wouldn't have mattered.
I actually feel sorry for The General's son. He was a great little kid, very positive and easy going and The General would berate him loudly during each practice and game. At the end of the last game when our team was getting blown out by 30, another kid was getting screamed at by The General and he lost it......just threw the ball down on the ground and cried his eyes out in an "I can't take this any more" fashion. I felt sick to my stomach for him and his parents. These are 6 and 7 year old children.
He sounds like a real... well, I can't type it on here. Use your imagination. Likely an overgrown child who is trying to overcompensate for something.
I guess the day is gone when neighborhood kids would meet up at park to play a little game of baseball just for fun, something to do. I couldn't hit, catch or really run fast but it didn't matter, it was for fun. Everyone played who wanted to. We didn't even keep score. Game ended when it was dinner time. I think the adults ruined the fun.
Last edited by Izzie1213; 01-09-2019 at 02:06 PM..
I guess the day is gone when neighborhood kids would met up at park to play a little game of baseball just for fun, something to do. I couldn't hit, catch or really run fast but it didn't matter, it was for fun. We didn't even keep score. Game ended when it was dinner time. I think the adults ruined the fun.
I hear you.
There was a Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel (HBO) story on this very phenomenon. Their contention was that it was the prevalence of club sports which has ruined youth sports. Parents now have to pay a lot of money to these programs to stay competitive as there are very few truly "free" leagues any more. So the kids who only play in the few remaining free programs get left behind and are at a huge disadvantage vs. the kids who partake in the paid club/travel sports. This ups the stakes and creates coaches and parents who now have a lot of money invested and, thus, creates a lot more tension in youth athletics.
It was an interesting segment and something I hadn't thought about. But it does make sense. Here in NE FL I can't even think of a league around here that isn't several hundreds of dollars to play.....soccer, baseball, softball, basketball, football (tackle & flag).....don't get me started on tennis ($40/30 min lesson). It's really crazy.
I grew up playing wiffle ball and home run derby in my backyard with the neighbor kids. I only played in the local leagues and while it wasn't free it was very affordable. There was no travel ball and I don't remember many crazy coaches like The General at all until I got into high school where they were paid. This is probably a bigger discussion but I am trying very hard not to get caught up in it all.
I'd guess flag football played by 7 year olds is no more "bang up" than basketball.
My own son's only concussion was from basketball. Stitches in baseball. Only (tackle) football injury was a sprained thumb. All youth sports not HS teams.
That said, I doubt I'd let him play tackle football if I were doing it all over. But also, he's 25 has grown up and moved on to other sports more suited to him.
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