Yes, that's me... Not to the crazy extent that I've seen others get to, but, I am super amped at my son's games... My son is 6, and I love to watch him play... When he played baseball, I'm always on the side yellin for him to knock the ball out, run faster, etc... When he played football, man, it was somethin else... He's a big kid, so, naturally, he's a problem when he runs the ball... He's not super fast, but, his size makes up for it... And when he scored his first touchdown, which he had to stiff arm one kid and spin between two others to do, I lost it... Especially since I was teaching him how to spin off of people the weekend prior... When he hit the end zone, only then did I realize that I had run the length of the field with him, on the sideline of course... But, I just get into it... To me, sports is where kids really learn that everybody doesn't win all the time, and I think that's important for them to know... The development of that competitive drive spreads out into so much of life, and is very important, IMO... I think that's what makes me like I am at these things... Are any of y'all like that?
Just don't go getting a wooden bat, or a gun from your car like some do. Otherwise, have fun, let your kid know you care about what he does.
I coach boy's baseball and girl's softball.. any parent acts up and gives me grief their kid is off the team. I emphasize learning the fundamentals with an emphasis on FUNdamentals. Kids who grow up to dislike sports; this is rooted in bad experiences in youth sports. The only thing I ask from a child is to give me their best effort. Parent's often live vicariously through their children, and push them to be hyper-competitive. The vast majority of youth who play organized sports do not go on to play professionally or even get college scholarships... parents need to be realistic. Save the hyper-competitivenes for the classroom, but the field for youth sports is for having fun, understanding teamwork and learning a sport; finding a joy they hopefully carry with them for life. Sport parents are the bain of my existence as a coach... not that I'm singling you out, but I've had a parent threaten me because his kid was benched for not hustling. 10 - 12 year olds mind you...and the parent wants to fight in the parking lot. If a kid gives me 100% on the practice field, I don't care if they lack natural talent or not... they play...lazy kids with natural talent get benched. Sport parents be dammed.
I hear ya... But, like I was saying, I don't get violent, nor am I a dick to other people... I just get really amped...lol
I don't have kids of my own, I'm only getting the perspective from the parents side of things. My niece needed a volunteer coach for her parochial school softball team..and I stepped up and never looked back...whenever I've got the time I've been coaching for over a decade. You'd be surprised how many parents see little "Billy" hit a homerun in T-ball and all of a sudden see $$$ signs thinking there's a free ride to college and maybe even a pro contract. They push the kid unnecessarily until the child hates practicing and hates the sport. I've seen them burn out at very young ages because of this. If I recognize a kid with solid talent, a real gift, I may encourage them to play in a more advanced league the next year..but the vast majority of those I coach will make a living doing other things aside from play the game of baseball or softball. I want them to have a positive experience and to understand that effort is the only way to get better at something. Parents sometimes get in the way of that by taking things too seriously at such an early level of competition...they push their kids beyond their capabilities and set up unrealistic expectations. Their little "Billy" or "Susie" is the next Albert Pujols or Jennifer Finch in their eyes. Try your best, learn teamwork, hopefully win, but if not..that's ok too. Vince Lombardi school of winning at all costs is better suited for coaching adults in professional sports, not youth amateur.
Yeah some parents are like that... I love to see my kid's team win, and I make my son work when he decides he wants to play a sport, but I'm out there with him, so, we have a lot of fun together, and, he improves in areas that he needs it...
I'll admit, I get a little jealous at the thought of having a son and watching him play sports. My daughter is 3 and we have her in dance class, but unfortunately watching her nail a dance move is just not the same as the thought of a break away TD.
I wonder what my daughter will be into when she's older... On the same note though, it's always awesome to see your kids, son or daughter, do well at something... I'm sure you agree...
I've seen a few ultra-competative parents around sports fields, and a few ultra-competative team coaches that teach their kids to cheat from the age of 7 or 8 onwards (and then cheat themselves when they referee a game, to make sure their kids win). My son played rugby for 3 or 4 years from age 8 - he was pretty useless at it, to be honest, but that never bothered me. He was having fun, and learned to enjoy the game even though he wasn't that great at playing it himself. Some of the other parents would be pushing their kids all the time, and pushing the coaches to push them harder and make sure they played all of every single game. Competative parents trying to live their dreams through their kids is a pretty horrible thing to behold! There was even one team, a few years before my son played, that ended up with everyone else refusing to play against them, because the parents would always be on the sidelines deliberately trying to trip opponents - we're talking about 8/9/10 year old kids here, being taught by the parents (and coaches) that that kind of thing is OK to do to win games - disgusting! Nothing wrong with enjoying the seeing your kids do well in sport, of course, or encouraging them to do better, as long as you don't get too carried away with it - ultimately, the desire has to come from them, and that will only happen if it's something they enjoy (not some task they have to do to stop themselves being shouted at). It's the ones that start shouting at their kids for making mistakes or not doing well enough that always really annoyed me! I knew a few of those.
