How do you feel as a parent about your child playing football?

[Buffalo716]

5 hours ago, Gugny said:

 

When my son played little league baseball, I had the displeasure of being around one of the over the top parents.  This was the first year after tee ball, so I think the kids were in 1st grade.

 

The father ... Anthony.  I grew up with him and his brothers.  He's a couple years older than me.  He has an older son who was a natural in both baseball and football.  He's currently in the Mariners farm system.

 

His youngest son was in my son's grade.  He was a year older than most of his classmates because his father delayed him starting school so he would have a competitive advantage in sports when he got older.  To me ... that is f*cking sickening.

 

This kid was not as athletically gifted as his older brother, and you could tell his father was not pleased.

 

Imagine a father (also the coach) yelling to his son, on the field, "YOU NEED TO GET TO THAT BALL!  YOU'RE NEVER GONNA BE AS GOOD AS YOUR BROTHER!" During a game .. in front of kids and parents.

 

Same season .. same as.shole ... last game of the year.  Mind you ... there were no "records," or "standings."  It's a bunch of first graders, right?  

 

It's my son's turn to bat.  My son ... who through the entire season had yet to get a hit.  In a game that means absolutely nothing.  

 

Anthony goes to his "bullpen," and makes a pitching change, which you NEVER see at this age.  Brings his best pitcher in, who proceeds to blow three fastballs by my son.

 

This is the kind of garbage we have raising future generations.

 

Oh .. and for what it's worth .. Anthony had two brothers and he was, BY FAR, the worst athlete out of all of them.  And I think that's the story with a lot of these as.shole parents.

When did pitching start in first grade ? 
 

it’s always bee T ball 5-6 … pitching machine or coach pitch 7-8… then kids start to pitch at 9-10 

 

even still in my neighborhood 

I’ve never heard of a league going from t ball straight to hard ball without pitching machine or coach pitch 

 

Edited January 5, 2023 by Buffalo716

[Augie]

My son just turned 30. He moved up to Atlanta near us and and 2-3 years ago he had to got to a sports doc for lingering results of a stinger his senior year in HS. He finished the season thanks to a “friendly” neurosurgeon who made house calls. My son’s platonic female friend tipped the decision with “but Dad, it’s Senior Night!”  He did not pursue recruiter interest from smaller schools. 

 

We had them play every other sport until High School. They got stronger, improved their feet, endurance and hand eye coordination. The best athletes can just start doing it, and at a high level. Ask Tony Gonzales. 

[BRH]

5 hours ago, Gugny said:

 

When my son played little league baseball, I had the displeasure of being around one of the over the top parents.  This was the first year after tee ball, so I think the kids were in 1st grade.

 

The father ... Anthony.  I grew up with him and his brothers.  He's a couple years older than me.  He has an older son who was a natural in both baseball and football.  He's currently in the Mariners farm system.

 

His youngest son was in my son's grade.  He was a year older than most of his classmates because his father delayed him starting school so he would have a competitive advantage in sports when he got older.  To me ... that is f*cking sickening.

 

This kid was not as athletically gifted as his older brother, and you could tell his father was not pleased.

 

Imagine a father (also the coach) yelling to his son, on the field, "YOU NEED TO GET TO THAT BALL!  YOU'RE NEVER GONNA BE AS GOOD AS YOUR BROTHER!" During a game .. in front of kids and parents.

 

Same season .. same as.shole ... last game of the year.  Mind you ... there were no "records," or "standings."  It's a bunch of first graders, right?  

 

It's my son's turn to bat.  My son ... who through the entire season had yet to get a hit.  In a game that means absolutely nothing.  

 

Anthony goes to his "bullpen," and makes a pitching change, which you NEVER see at this age.  Brings his best pitcher in, who proceeds to blow three fastballs by my son.

 

This is the kind of garbage we have raising future generations.

 

Oh .. and for what it's worth .. Anthony had two brothers and he was, BY FAR, the worst athlete out of all of them.  And I think that's the story with a lot of these as.shole parents.

Let me also add… any league that is making kids pitch at age 6 is doing it wrong. Here there’s no kid pitch until at least 8, and even that is pushing it. Not a comment directed at you, just at the league.  And you know that is happening because of dads who think somehow their kids are falling behind if they don’t start pitching in first grade.  The truth is that when I look back on it, I can’t think of one good 8 or 9 year old pitcher who was still dominating even in high school, let alone beyond.  And that includes my son.  (Fortunately, he could also hit, which is why he’s still playing.)  But looking back, it’s ridiculous how much attention and emphasis was placed by parents and coaches on pitching at such a young age. 

[cba fan]

On 1/3/2023 at 2:27 PM, LABILLBACKER said:

That almost happened to my son in a minor league Blue Jay game. He was pitching and a line drive glazed right by his temple. One of the scariest things I've ever experienced. In sports you just don't know how and when it will happen.

that is the strangest thing in sports since before Hockey mandated masks for goalies and then for all players later.

 

we have the safety gear to prevent baseball pitchers and infielders to never die from a ball hit to the head. Yet for reasons unexplainable, baseball refuses to require it.

 

Girls' softball wear helmets, why not more teams??

[DCofNC]

2 hours ago, The Frankish Reich said:

The thing with my daughter's friend and her sister (with the basketball obsessed dad I talked about): I got the feeling that the girls really weren't obsessed themselves with basketball. The demands of basketball camps/travel teams, etc. kind of caused them to fall out of a really tight-knit group of friends who stayed together for 13 years of school, K-12. They missed out on a lot, and I'm not sure they're all that thrilled with what they gained from the experience.

That sucks, it’s exactly what I won’t do.  If they have a burning passion for it, I’ll support them, but I hate seeing the push to do it if it’s not what they really want to do.

[Milanos Milano]

On 1/3/2023 at 5:10 PM, HOUSE said:

 

I bought my son a motorcycle 

 

 

.

What? No pills for Christmas? 

[JoPoy88]

On 1/3/2023 at 3:00 PM, Royale with Cheese said:

My kid is only 7 so I have awhile where I think I have time before impacts can hurt the body.  I know what happened yesterday has never happened in the NFL and is extremely rare.  But I will never forget about Damar Hamlin...ever.  My son plays every sport and man, I don't know if I'll ever be comfortable seeing him take a big shot, it will happen, those who have played before knows this.  

 

Again, I know it's a one in a hundred million but it's also your child.  I'm going to let him play what he wants to play but last night was just so scary.

ain’t no way. And I love football but my kids playing soccer and baseball.

[Locomark]

I would let my kids play unless they were undersized. I played 3 different sports and sustained lasting effects from all of them. You are going to get neck, head, groin, ankle, back, and leg injuries almost as much in hockey as football mainly because you play so many more games. You will get just as many knee or back injuries in soccer when two people kick at the same time since you will get countless hyper extensions and tears. I have had neck, leg tears, broken bones, and back injuries in all 3 of those sports. It’s in the college years that those collisions get much more dangerous in my opinion. It also depends on what position your kid plays at high school ages. I have seen some 165LB kids trying to throw their bodies around as a safety and that will get them hurt in high school. In younger pop Warner years the leagues are weight controlled so everyone is similar sized, which helps. Once you get to JV and varsity you see there are kids who have matured faster crushing kids that are smaller. That’s when you see more injuries start due to random size mismatch, often on chop or blind block hits. 

[PrimeTime101]

On 1/3/2023 at 3:14 PM, Buffalo716 said:

The thought of my son wanting to play still doesn’t bother me 

 

You can get hit with a line drive in baseball and die

And your odds of that happening are more likely than what happened to Hamlin 

[BRH]

6 hours ago, DCofNC said:

That sucks, it’s exactly what I won’t do.  If they have a burning passion for it, I’ll support them, but I hate seeing the push to do it if it’s not what they really want to do.

100% agreed.  I checked in with my son on that many times, but more importantly I checked in with my wife, my friends, and others.  I never ever wanted to mistake my own passion for his.  Sometimes it seems all too “convenient” that the kid loves the same sport as his dad, and eventually the truth comes out.  Especially when, as in my case, the kid turns out to be way better than the dad ever was (yes, I married up). 
 

When we were out on a field somewhere late taking BP or grounders, I knew people driving by would think “look at that crazy dad and his poor kid.”  But every time we went, it was his idea.  He was the one dragging me to practice, not the other way around.  I was the one complaining it was too cold or too hot or too wet to practice, not him. He was the one insisting on getting to practice half an hour early, not me. Before I dropped him off for his very first baseball practice ever, I told him that I had just two rules:  one, have fun; and two, listen to the coach.  Because if either one isn’t happening, we’re done.  That was 15 years ago and those are still my only two rules.  And he’s still playing. 

Like I said, it can be confusing about whose passion it is.  Because I would happily sit and watch a baseball practice from dawn to dusk.  (By contrast, as much as I love football and the Bills, I can’t sit through more than five minutes of a football practice.  Don’t @ me.)  So I’d be the dad sitting in the stands during practice, or parked in my car where I could see it.  But of course I’d never say a word, and we wouldn’t even look at each other.  But I would always ask the coach if it was okay, and more importantly I’d ask my son.  As he got older he’d let me know when I could stay and when I couldn’t, and I’d respect that.  And of course, after games and practices - I let him start the conversation.  
 

He’s not going pro, except maybe in a front office somewhere. He was never going pro. And that’s fine. He’s a starting outfielder at a well-regarded D3 school with great academics and a 3.6 in a tough major, and he earned his spot with his own hard work.  Nothing was given to him and he took no shortcuts.  He understands his baseball mortality as well as anyone, but long ago he decided to get as much as he can out of the game before it tells him he can’t play anymore. I dread that day, but I also can’t wait to see what he’s going to do when the time comes. 

 

[John from Riverside]

My sons high school football coach committed suicide

 

The truth is, there is a lot of pressure coming in all different ways at kids and the people that coach them