- Feb 12, 2014
- 648
- 43
One problem that I struggle with concerning my DD is that I put expectations on her that probably aren't appropriate for her age. I don't remember much about my athletic career when I was 11 or 12 beyond that I played on a good town-league baseball team and was forced to play soccer because we weren't allowed to play football until 7th grade in my house. Dad would come home and play with us every night during the summer but we didn't "practice" except when the team had practice. It was a different era and our socio-economic situation was different then than it is for my own family.
What I do remember is my high school and college football days. I was never the most talented guy athletically but I'd outwork anyone. I lived in the weight room and would spend hours working on my stance and steps. The coaches would have to run me out of the field house because of the amount of film I watched and even then I'd take the tapes home and watch more. For fun, I developed offensive and defensive playbooks that would later become the basis of what I used as a coach. I was the football equivalent of a gym rat and I loved every minute of.....maybe, in part, because I wasn't allowed to play when many of my peers started.
Too often, the second mindset is what I expect from my daughter. After all, she's got the best equipment available, plays on an outstanding travel team, and has resources available to her like hitting and catching lessons and speed and agility instruction that I NEVER would have had access to. But, in the end, that's not fair to expect from her. She works hard, but there are days when she doesn't want to push into areas that she struggles with. I need to understand that is okay. If it's the same story at 16 or 17 then there's probably and issue but, even then, maybe not.
Just a couple random thoughts that I've been dealing with as a Dad.
What I do remember is my high school and college football days. I was never the most talented guy athletically but I'd outwork anyone. I lived in the weight room and would spend hours working on my stance and steps. The coaches would have to run me out of the field house because of the amount of film I watched and even then I'd take the tapes home and watch more. For fun, I developed offensive and defensive playbooks that would later become the basis of what I used as a coach. I was the football equivalent of a gym rat and I loved every minute of.....maybe, in part, because I wasn't allowed to play when many of my peers started.
Too often, the second mindset is what I expect from my daughter. After all, she's got the best equipment available, plays on an outstanding travel team, and has resources available to her like hitting and catching lessons and speed and agility instruction that I NEVER would have had access to. But, in the end, that's not fair to expect from her. She works hard, but there are days when she doesn't want to push into areas that she struggles with. I need to understand that is okay. If it's the same story at 16 or 17 then there's probably and issue but, even then, maybe not.
Just a couple random thoughts that I've been dealing with as a Dad.