My son Ben joined me for an interview that aired yesterday on National Public Radio's "All Things Considered." I had been hoping for a chance for the two of us to speak about Until It Hurts and generally about the highs and occasional lows of his life as a kid athlete. This was our first chance and worth the wait.
Ben did a superb job, explaining that many kids are competitive, want more for their efforts than a participation trophy and love the games as much as their parents do. At the end of the interview, he makes a crucial point: this discussion isn't about abandoning sports for kids, but improving them.
Monday, May 18, 2009
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Ben's attitude and comments are excellent. His viewpoint speaks loudly to anyone who truly understands what it is all about. I have two daughters who played club, high school, and D1 collegiate sports (one is still participating). They both grew up in our current environment and faced their own type of adversity, which they overcame.
What I especially like about Ben's comments are that they are genuine and they come from inside him. That is where the importance for what our kids are doing in regard to youth sports participatiion. It needs to come from within, that is part of the problem.
We all need to be careful to not allow the pendulum to swing from its current position all the way to the other extreme where youth sports participation becomes a negative. There are certain aspects that need to change, there is no doubt, but the intrinsic value (when the winning at all costs attitudes is removed) cannot be denied. There is a happy medium where positives on both sides of youth sport issues can florish and the negatives be religated to non-existence.
Would love to have a one-on-one with Ben, and Mark. It would be a great discussion, I think we have a lot of common ground
Kirk Mango
http://www.becomingatruechampion.com/
http://www.becomingatruechampion.blogspot.com/
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