I thought I would start a seperate thread as the Power Tourney thread seems to be wandering away from the OP... (Mostly my fault).
Over Thanksgiving my family and I talked a great deal about this topic.
To set this up... I come from a large family of athletes... my dad played, grandfather semi-pro soccer, cousins in college, rookies of the year, HS, All-stars, travel, national tourneys, international tourneys, I played until 38, sons played, nephews played, probably 125 years of combined years of coaching, baseball, softball, basketball, football, soccer, golf, cross country, etc., etc. Grandkids (my kid's generation) range in age between 32-10. My youngest nephew (10 y/o- lives in SC) is by far the best of the bunch when looking at talent at a relative age.
The discussion started with my 10 y/o nephew's invitation by yet another "former pro" who wants him to play for his travel team. The last few years he has played a bunch of games for a number of rec, tourney, and TB teams, and I feel, he, my sister and his dad fits the profile I often preach against. Some of the children down there are playing 100+ games a year, and they can play year round.
Long story short... I asked my oldest nephew (a former Big East Champion and NCAA Championships participant) how he felt about the topic and what his long journey taught him... He told me that he has more trophies (Amatuer, college, professional, HS, nationals, Big East, etc.) than he knows what to do with, but what he remembers most, was a coach who did not play him at a specific basketball game because the coach wanted to go undefeated - he was 11. He said, "Uncle Jake, most coaches just don't get it. All I wanted to do was play. I didn't care whether or not we won that game... and the only person today who cares is that is the coach."
Over Thanksgiving my family and I talked a great deal about this topic.
To set this up... I come from a large family of athletes... my dad played, grandfather semi-pro soccer, cousins in college, rookies of the year, HS, All-stars, travel, national tourneys, international tourneys, I played until 38, sons played, nephews played, probably 125 years of combined years of coaching, baseball, softball, basketball, football, soccer, golf, cross country, etc., etc. Grandkids (my kid's generation) range in age between 32-10. My youngest nephew (10 y/o- lives in SC) is by far the best of the bunch when looking at talent at a relative age.
The discussion started with my 10 y/o nephew's invitation by yet another "former pro" who wants him to play for his travel team. The last few years he has played a bunch of games for a number of rec, tourney, and TB teams, and I feel, he, my sister and his dad fits the profile I often preach against. Some of the children down there are playing 100+ games a year, and they can play year round.
Long story short... I asked my oldest nephew (a former Big East Champion and NCAA Championships participant) how he felt about the topic and what his long journey taught him... He told me that he has more trophies (Amatuer, college, professional, HS, nationals, Big East, etc.) than he knows what to do with, but what he remembers most, was a coach who did not play him at a specific basketball game because the coach wanted to go undefeated - he was 11. He said, "Uncle Jake, most coaches just don't get it. All I wanted to do was play. I didn't care whether or not we won that game... and the only person today who cares is that is the coach."
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