MarshallLehr.com > Culture > This is the Answer to the Question
This is the Answer to the Question
Noah (far right with braces) was asked to fill in with the 8U Black Cats this weekend. I received a Facebook message Tuesday asking if he could play and he jumped at the chance to play with a couple old teammates. The boys played well, had a ton of fun, and in the end got eliminated by the eventual champions in the semi-final.
So what’s the question you may asking? I was recently asked why we chose the team we chose for Noah in the spring. That smile is the answer. While this picture was taken while he was filling in for another team, we picked the team he is on because I believe it will produce the most smiles like this. It’s not that the other teams were not great; we were fortunate to have multiple options, each with good coaches. However, we felt the Yankees environment would provide the most fun while still being competitive enough to challenge him.
As I’ve mentioned before I’m hypersensitive to the culture and I feel like many well-meaning parents and coaches are getting too serious too soon. Too serious too soon often results in quitting.
Here’s the way I like to put it:
In our effort to build elite athletes out of 8 year olds we take away the one thing that will keep them coming back long enough to develop into a special player; the fun.