Sam wrote:Oh, you might think its all fine and wonderful when your kid is so duly "motivated" at 12 years old....she won't be that way at 14....she'll find boys....or girls....or whatever. She'll find other things to do.
Give them a month off...go on a real vacation. They won't hate you later in life for that...but they might just well hate you later in life if you keep pushing them....they will say they want to work out now....their goal in life is to bring a smile to your face....but keep pushing them and they might kill you in your sleep when they turn 17.....
Hi Sam, I hear this a lot and understand that this is required for many players. I have two daughters, both of whom started playing at the same time. One was five and the other four. I told them both when we started that we could approach our softball effort in one of two ways and the decision is theirs to make at any time. If the idea is to have fun and not worry about being really good we could go that way. Conversely, they could opt to be good at the sport but if that is their choice, Dad is going to be more demanding and less forgiving. They could go either way and change at any time.
Both opted to be good but one changed at about the age of ten and wanted to limit the experience to enjoyment without much effort. The other has chosen to be good and continue the effort.
To me, this case illustrates that generalizations do not always apply. In your case, Sam, it looks as if you believe that time off should be taken. I have no argument that taking time off is a good thing but there are some who do not want to take time off.
As for my kid hating me later in life... Mark Twain said it best when he observed that, "“When I was a boy of fourteen, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be twenty-one, I was astonished by how much he'd learned in seven years.”
Regards,
Bill
