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It's hard not to compare your kids with the elite kids who either have a natural ability or train ALL THE TIME. Coaching experience tells me that no kid is supposed to specialize in any single sport due to muscle maturation - it's better for them to do a wide variety of activities as they grow. Anyway, just have to remind yourself that kids live in the "now" and just want to have fun.
Is it then a good thing for kids to be training/playing the same sport at the elite level year-round?
Is it then a good thing for kids to be training/playing the same sport at the elite level year-round?
Good for who - that's the question. If you're looking for success, being one of the best in the world, there is very little alternative.
Some kids are just into certain things and naturally driven to get better at it. You hear of stories like this from parents where their kid goes into their basement or hits the field and just practices on their own. If they truly want that, more power to them - that's what they enjoy doing. This is not the norm. Many are pushed or don't want to let their parents down.
You can sort of place this in parallel with parents who drive their kids to academic success vs. those who do it on their own. Sure, if pushed, kids can achieve great things too. Some will look back and even be able to say they are grateful for it. But there's a lot of sacrifices too.
As a parent watching the kids play, I can say it is very stressful - and only seldomly do I get to truly enjoy it. Even parents of professionals deal with that. The best thing about sports though, is you really do get to enjoy the highs when they happen. Even better if you share it as a family.
Seems as if this is the case for simply getting into colleges or many professions.
The pace and order of magnitude are different in sports vs. white collar professions, but who knows if some day kids will have to choose their majors in middle school to get their CPA license in high school.
I grew up in the former Soviet Union and I was one of the very few kids not into sports. Everyone in my advanced math/science class (you would think geeks, right), were involved in sports at rather high levels-we had republic's champions in Ping-Pong and fencing, and kids earning various medals in tennis, field hockey, swimming, etc. The push was not as much done by parents as it was done by government and government-run education system, and the best thing was that participation was free. The athletics continue to be the point of the national pride even after the regime has collapsed and 1/3 of the Olympic team was disqualified for doping usage.
I grew up in the former Soviet Union and I was one of the very few kids not into sports. Everyone in my advanced math/science class (you would think geeks, right), were involved in sports at rather high levels-we had republic's champions in Ping-Pong and fencing, and kids earning various medals in tennis, field hockey, swimming, etc. The push was not as much done by parents as it was done by government and government-run education system, and the best thing was that participation was free. The athletics continue to be the point of the national pride even after the regime has collapsed and 1/3 of the Olympic team was disqualified for doping usage.
When was this and how would the same kids fare today in the age of Phelps, Sharapova, Douglas, Curry, etc.?
Sure, if pushed, kids can achieve great things too. Some will look back and even be able to say they are grateful for it. But there's a lot of sacrifices too.
But isn't sacrifice required in ANY endeavor to reach the top? IMO, the current generation (of parents and kids) want to get more for less effort. We live in an age of "participation" trophies. The pampered kids will grow up looking for a handout from the few who made the sacrifices to be "the best." But I guess it's always been that was to a degree.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Forest_Hills_Daddy
The pace and order of magnitude are different in sports vs. white collar professions, but who knows if some day kids will have to choose their majors in middle school to get their CPA license in high school.
I understand your point but disagree. It is more difficult than ever to get into a good college. It is more difficult than ever to get a good white collar job in a good company. Advancement and survival in those companies are cut-throat.
To be a Doctor or a-list lawyer you pretty much have to start mapping things out in middle school. You don't get into an Ivy league school by waking up as a high-school junior. You don't get that coveted position in a top NYC law firm without the Ivy league diploma. You don't make partner in that firm without being able to perform AND eliminate the competition.
A different playing field, but very much the same game.
Quote:
Originally Posted by babysladkaya
I grew up in the former Soviet Union and I was one of the very few kids not into sports. Everyone in my advanced math/science class (you would think geeks, right), were involved in sports at rather high levels-we had republic's champions in Ping-Pong and fencing, and kids earning various medals in tennis, field hockey, swimming, etc. The push was not as much done by parents as it was done by government and government-run education system, and the best thing was that participation was free. The athletics continue to be the point of the national pride even after the regime has collapsed and 1/3 of the Olympic team was disqualified for doping usage.
Interesting. I would submit it is no different in the USA.
Instead of the government pushing sports, we have society and the sponsors doing so. An NFL quarterback is a hero - a major celebrity. Even off the field, there are commercial endorsements and other perks.
We idolize sports figures as celebrities in the US. The media even makes Olympic medal winners into national heroes. Look at the money involved in college football. It is simply "booster" funded rather than government funded. How many channels does ESPN have? There is an entire cable channel devoted to watching GOLF! The Superbowl has almost become a national holiday with millions of dollars spent on unrelated items (party items, big-screen TVs, etc.).
It is insane the amount of money and celebrity involved in sports. That's the root of it all. It not about the gold medal, it's just about the gold.
I understand your point but disagree. It is more difficult than ever to get into a good college. It is more difficult than ever to get a good white collar job in a good company. Advancement and survival in those companies is cut-throat.
To be a Doctor or a-list lawyer you pretty much have to start mapping things out in middle school. You don't get into an Ivy league school by waking up as a high-school junior. You don't get that coveted position in a top NYC law firm without the Ivy league diploma. You don't make partner in that firm without being able to perform AND eliminate the competition.
A different playing field, but very much the same game.
You don't have to go to law school or med school to get a white collar job. And with medicine, you can advance your career by agreeing to work in underserved locations (not quite an Olympic effort). I work for an investment bank. We are hiring people from different colleges that are not ivy league in areas like compliance, risk governance, stress testing and regulatory relations. And there is no urgency to get promoted quickly while you are young, which gives workers plenty of time to learn and get experience at their own pace. Same thing with my old company. There is still a clear middle area between entry level and high profile positions and you don't need to make Olympic-level efforts to achieve this. Not saying it is not competitive, but the order of magnitude is not yet the same.
Last edited by Forest_Hills_Daddy; 08-09-2016 at 01:23 PM..
comparing generic white collar jobs to olympic athletes is ridiculous. A better comparison would be Olympic athletes vs. getting an extremely hard to get job at a BigLaw firm or bank or google.
Getting a job in compliance is like making your high school football team.
And of course intense specialization for many Olympic sports is nothing new and has been going on for decades.
comparing generic white collar jobs to olympic athletes is ridiculous. A better comparison would be Olympic athletes vs. getting an extremely hard to get job at a BigLaw firm or bank or google.
Your analogy about BigLaw is right, but the point is that ever increasing hypercompetition is not inevitable in the while collar job market. Not yet, at least.
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