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re: More Pussification in Youth Athletics
Posted on 3/7/14 at 8:42 am to UMTigerRebel
Posted on 3/7/14 at 8:42 am to UMTigerRebel
quote:
I don't believe parents should force kids in to doing something they have no interest just because it was the parent's dream. I see it now with gymnastics and cheerleading in my area. Competitive cheerleading has been huge in this area for over 2 decades, and you see mothers already putting their 5 and 6 year olds on competitive teams. That's entirely too early, and the ones who start at a high level of competition very young usually burn out by high school.
I have no plans to let them do anything really competitive (even if they want to) until they're at least in middle school. Before then, all I really ask is that they have fun with it and progress.
Getting your kid(s) involved in extracurricular activities isn't a ubiquitously bad thing, I totally agree. In fact, there's little else I can say other than I disagree with nothing you declared.
It's just really bizarre to see this line of thinking that if your kid isn't fighting to win, they must be a "pussy" and you're enabling weakness. In the military, that might actually be applicable (although the evolution of our tactics is clearly going in a different direction) but when they're 10? Maybe even 13 or 14? It's too much to ask. They just want to have fun.
2
Posted on 3/7/14 at 8:45 am to StrawsDrawnAtRandom
quote:
although the evolution of our tactics is clearly going in a different direction)
Sad truth right there
Posted on 3/7/14 at 8:47 am to Hardy_Har
Hardy you going to become a drone pilot? They make a lot of money.
Posted on 3/7/14 at 8:50 am to UMTigerRebel
quote:
I don't believe parents should force kids in to doing something they have no interest just because it was the parent's dream. I see it now with gymnastics and cheerleading in my area. Competitive cheerleading has been huge in this area for over 2 decades, and you see mothers already putting their 5 and 6 year olds on competitive teams. That's entirely too early, and the ones who start at a high level of competition very young usually burn out by high school.
Yes, I have my kids in gymnastics, but it's for fun, great exercise for them, and they WANT to be in it. I have no plans to let them do anything really competitive (even if they want to) until they're at least in middle school. Before then, all I really ask is that they have fun with it and progress.
Absolutely. I grew up loving soccer and played club soccer for several years. It broke my heart when neither of my kids liked it, but I never forced them to play. Son likes basketball, and daughter is more of a free spirit into the arts. She did have a friend convince her to do cheerleading last year and she loved it. But watching her it's clear she doesn't have the athletic ability to be a cheerleader long term. But yeah, there were a couple of the cheerleading moms that frightened the crap out of me. These were 6 year olds, mind you.
Posted on 3/7/14 at 8:50 am to StrawsDrawnAtRandom
It's odd. We mothers who were involved in the competitive cheerleading world growing up are much more laid back about it all than the ones who weren't involved in it. And yes, by 14, we competed to win, but weren't sore losers when we didn't. It was always taught that someone out there could be better than you, and that's okay, but you have to put forth your best effort and push yourself if you want a shot to win.
Posted on 3/7/14 at 8:52 am to UMTigerRebel
When I was in first grade I thought that the cheerleader's bloomers were panties. I thought some scandalous shite was going down at pep rally's.
Posted on 3/7/14 at 8:52 am to Eric Nies Grind Time
The real gamers have those jobs wrapped tight. FWIW I did lose one of the little hand thrown rigs overseas in 2005. Marked the end of my piloting career.
Posted on 3/7/14 at 8:56 am to Hardy_Har
Go buy a ps4 and train up. Some good games on the horizon.
Posted on 3/7/14 at 8:56 am to Eric Nies Grind Time
Posted on 3/7/14 at 8:57 am to Hardy_Har
quote:
Sad truth right there
It's not sad at all.
You can't outrun bullets and if your muscles are glorious and rippling it won't stop them.
Avoiding bullets and fighting in today's war is about intellect and strategy more than it is brawn and agility. Those are still important but less emphasized than being able to construct a battlefield and quantify your chances of survival.
Communication is also by far the most important aspect of any given battlefield; not only your ability to understand instructions but to give them.
As I said, there's nothing sad about it and in the words of Erwin Rommel.
Sweat saves blood.
Blood saves lives.
Brains save both.
Posted on 3/7/14 at 8:58 am to Eric Nies Grind Time
Battlefield 4 has no pillage button tho :(
Posted on 3/7/14 at 9:04 am to StrawsDrawnAtRandom
quote:
Communication is also by far the most important aspect of any given battlefield; not only your ability to understand instructions but to give them.
I skimmed over your earlier post, and thought you were speaking of a "training tactic" not tactical training, as a nod towards the pussification of the military. I have operated on the ground as a younger man, and later Electronic Warfare to Intel analyst. I couldn't agree with you more on how we've used technology to shrink the battlefield and how fast it can be employed. The capability has to be just as versatile, and that's what makes it impressive.
Posted on 3/7/14 at 9:06 am to UMTigerRebel
quote:
It's odd. We mothers who were involved in the competitive cheerleading world growing up are much more laid back about it all than the ones who weren't involved in it. And yes, by 14, we competed to win, but weren't sore losers when we didn't. It was always taught that someone out there could be better than you, and that's okay, but you have to put forth your best effort and push yourself if you want a shot to win.
I used to be very, very bad at losing. I won't go to the extent of explaining it all, but let's just say that I really didn't like it.
I think sometime in my early twenties I finally came to the revelation that nothing bad happens when I lose. It sucks, and I'd rather win, but as you said there is always someone out there who can be better than you. It's just a fact of reality.
And to keep to the conversation at hand: Getting a trophy did not take away the fact that we lost, and it didn't help me cope at all. Some people are just, even as children, more competitive than others but at that age it's better to emphasize sportsmanship than it is winning.
It really is the basest concept in child sports and it baffles me that some people don't understand it.
Posted on 3/7/14 at 9:23 am to StrawsDrawnAtRandom
I despise losing, but I always have had a generally even-keeled personality.
The ONE time I lost my cool, I remember vividly. I was 12 years old, living in Biloxi, MS. My dad and I used to play one on one in the backyard, and this particular day, I really wanted to win for some reason (can't remember exactly why).
Dad kicked my arse, and at the end of the game, I hurled the ball in disgust over the fence where it lodged in a some trees.
Normally, my dad wouldn't tolerate any sort of outbursts like that. But this time he just looked at me in kind of a curious way, and turned and went inside the house. Neither of us ever spoke of the incident again. I doubt he even remembers it.
But that one non-judgmental look of curiosity that I'd react like that to losing a GAME made me so sheepish, I get embarrassed a little to this day just thinking about it. Had a huge impact on me.
The ONE time I lost my cool, I remember vividly. I was 12 years old, living in Biloxi, MS. My dad and I used to play one on one in the backyard, and this particular day, I really wanted to win for some reason (can't remember exactly why).
Dad kicked my arse, and at the end of the game, I hurled the ball in disgust over the fence where it lodged in a some trees.
Normally, my dad wouldn't tolerate any sort of outbursts like that. But this time he just looked at me in kind of a curious way, and turned and went inside the house. Neither of us ever spoke of the incident again. I doubt he even remembers it.
But that one non-judgmental look of curiosity that I'd react like that to losing a GAME made me so sheepish, I get embarrassed a little to this day just thinking about it. Had a huge impact on me.
Posted on 3/7/14 at 9:26 am to TbirdSpur2010
quote:
I despise losing, but I always have had a generally even-keeled personality.
The ONE time I lost my cool, I remember vividly. I was 12 years old, living in Biloxi, MS. My dad and I used to play one on one in the backyard, and this particular day, I really wanted to win for some reason (can't remember exactly why).
Dad kicked my arse, and at the end of the game, I hurled the ball in disgust over the fence where it lodged in a some trees.
Normally, my dad wouldn't tolerate any sort of outbursts like that. But this time he just looked at me in kind of a curious way, and turned and went inside the house. Neither of us ever spoke of the incident again. I doubt he even remembers it.
But that one non-judgmental look of curiosity that I'd react like that to losing a GAME made me so sheepish, I get embarrassed a little to this day just thinking about it. Had a huge impact on me.
I actually kicked the goal post during a soccer game when I was 10 and hurt myself pretty good. Never told anyone, but it was a lucid lesson in learning that things are just, generally speaking, out of your control.
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