Like
many Americans, I have helped keep Tom Brokaw's
book, The Greatest American Generation,
on the "bestseller" list for many
months. It's a stirring tribute to the sacrifices
and successes of my parents' generation. In
fact, Brokaw's prototype for the generation
was born in 1920, the year of my father's birth.
When
they might have enjoyed a teenager's foolishness,
they had the great depression. When they might
have turned college degrees into job offers,
they had World War II.
Subsequent
generations know nothing of the suffering,
fear and delayed gratification that forged
discipline, dedication and persistence that
we don't really fully appreciate.
Maybe
that's part of the reason my generation has
been so lousy about our kids and their sports.
The
youth sports image of parents today is that,
against all odds, we believe our child has
a college athletic scholarship in his or her
future; we criticize our children, even publicly,
for every idle moment or any momentary lapse
of focus or proficiency in competition; we
challenge the coach regarding decisions on
position, playing time and strategy; and we
loudly chastise officials for cheating our
kids.
Of
course, the kids need none of this. Here's
what they really need:
Jim
Abbott was born without a hand but went on
to be a star high school athlete in Flint,
Michigan, and to pitch for the University of
Michigan baseball team, pitched the United
States to a Pan American Games gold medal,
and pitch successfully in Major League Baseball.
When asked what his dad did to prepare him
for a major league baseball career, Abbott
said: "My dad and I did what was necessary
to play catch. We didn't form the basis for
a major league career. We just played catch."
What
do kids need from us? To just play catch.
They
just need a fan. They need a fan, not a fanatic;
they need an encourager, not an embarrasser.
They
need us to let them live their lives, not relive
our lives with all the rough spots smoothed
out. They need us to delay our gratification
in their lives permanently.
I
didn't make this up. This is what my kid told
me.
-John
E. "Jack" Roberts
MHSAA Executive Director
