I dropped the Mighty Mo off at my parents today so I could have at least one day to finish my shopping and be alone. It was a late night with the season finale of Nip/Tuck and stumbling on a ESPN reality show with Dick Butkis coaching a high school football team so I am pretty tired. BTW don't get me started on high school football, more specifically coaches...okay I will.
I think high school football is great but unless my son shows enough aptitude to make it to college, I am not in favor of him playing. On my side of the fitness fence, I have made a career out of helping men in their 20-30's loose the extra 30 pounds 'Coach' had them put on so they could win a couple of games. Most coaches now and especially then, don't know a thing about nutrition or exercise.
These young high school men, put on 20, 30, 50 pounds of unneeded fat so they can play eight games a year for three years and then think they can compete at the college level, which they can't and then they enter college big fat tubs o' lard. The sloppy, unhealthy eating that help them put on weight in high school coupled with being on their own for the first time in college and its blimpsville. Poor Bastards.
If I have any influence on my son as he grows into sport, if he does its up to him,is first to use one of my trainers, (its a nice perk) then try running (cross country or track), swimming and golf. Of all high school athletics these three have the most cross over into real life.
Running competitively involves tangible results in decreased time and increased speed. The side affects include lower bodyfat among adults. Running is also a timely sport that can be indulged in racing on almost any weekend of the year throughout a lifetime.
Swimming at a young age instills dedication and focus that translate later in life to hard work ethics. Early morning and afternoon swim practices instill time management. Most swimmers are hard studiers and accidents among swimmers are far fewer than among other team sports.
Golf is not the high school glamour sport. Most men do not appreciate golf until later in life. However the benefit of learning the proper strokes and forms early can lead to a lucrative side business winning hole money from friends until late in life. A good golfer among duffers is an immediate bump up in social status among that crowd. If a guy is good at golf, its almost like he's a blond driving a convertable, every man looks with appreciation.
All three sports translate into a lifetime of activity. When was the last time one of you high school footballers played even a pick up game? Or swung a bat or played hoops if you did those in high school? Not much or at all recently I would wager. Yet everyday I run into swimmers, golfers and runners who picked up the sport early and still perform often.
Okay so not what I had planned for todays post but I feel better and it's probably worth some comments from the peanut gallery. Am I right or am I full of crap?
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16 comments:
Com,
I started to write a response but it got long. I think you make some really good points. I think you are mostly right on the mark, mostly. Look for a post about my opinions. Not that you care but hey, I have expereince with alot of what you said.
*note* one month after HS wrestling, not after the 100 lbs.
You are right about the nutrition thing...but I think wrestling is a much bigger problem then football.
One year to the date of weighing in at the state tournament, I had gained one hundred pounds. One month after that date I had gained 30+ pounds, while still playing baseball. My metabolism did really even out for about 5 years, until I finally did some research and found out what is really good for me, and how to workout the efficient way.
You are dead on about golf. Learning proper form early is everything.
Hmm, I'm so far removed from the football scene I don't really know, but what you are saying makes sense to me.
I swam and rowed crew in High School.
I think you're right on. Feminine-wise, I would rather see girls run or play golf, than be cheerleaders. I mean, how many middle-aged women meet a few friends down at the park to turn cartwheels?
i think you're right for the most part... however, i still go play pick up basketball games and compete in volleyball leagues whenever i get a chance.
it's true that those two sports don't have a lot of cross over in to the real world, but i am still fit and active enough to really enjoy it.
i enjoy the commradory (sp?) of having teammates. don't get me wrong, i enjoy triathlon as well because it's a whole different experience (depending on myself and pushing myself with no help from teammates), but i plan on playing volleyball and basketball for as long as i can. (or until i blow out my other ankle... whichever comes first).
i guess that your post was more directed to men and former football players. i didn't have to gain any weight to play either vb or bb... in fact, i miss my weight from my playing days.
just thought i would give you my thoughts on the subject. i also thought you would like a novel on your comments. i aim to please.
Straight up. I am secretly and subconsciously prompting my son towards cycling as we speak!
I think a pro triathlete in the family would be nice...
I think you are right. I see parents giving up all of their family time to get their kids to traveling soccer, hockey whatever, and maybe 1 in 20 make it in the sport past high school. I played varsity soccer and basketball, but it was my passion-and played volleyball, ran track and cross country. I really enjoyed all the sports I tried for different reasons. bball is great because it allows me to play pickup with my adventure girls and was a great ice breaker when a group of us would go to the Women's prison-
I think I would say, keep your kids active, but don't run their athletic lives and certainly don't let their athletic lives run your family.
U forgot about triathlon :)....i think i am just bias..
I realize if i got into triathlon in a much earlier age...say in university, I would not drink as much and eat much healthier...
So how do u get your kids to eat those veges they despise?? Triathlon :).
Most important is letting Mighty Mo found something he loves to do. I have seen parents dragging their kids to sports and activities that the kids don't even enjoy. Be it swimming, golf, or running, as long as he likes it, he will stick with it...plus is more fun that way..
I didn't play football in High School, but a lot of friends did. I do remember, a lot of them working hard to put weight on. I think mostly you're right... and spot on with the Golf thing. (I love golf, but I am one of the great duffers).
I'm like Flatman, encouraging my kids towards cycling. My son was probably the only 6-year old in his class that could ride 10 miles last year at 9MPH average on a 15" tire.
I agree that high school sports often take kids in unhealthy and unrealistic directions, on many levels.
I don't know much about football, but I know wrestling is awful from a bad nutrition standpoint. I was friends with the wrestling coach's wife back home, and even at 17 I was stunned by the outrageously unhealthy diet she was on. She insisted it was fine because it was what her husband had the wrestlers on.
I totally agree. Football and wrestling were big in my HS, and those guys all became big tubs of lard. Actually I think wrestling is the worst - all that gorging and starving to make weight. If the kid wants a team sport, soccer and basketball are healthier ways to go -- all that running.
That being said, girls should be encouraged to play more sports too - keeps their minds off boys, makeup and starvation dieting. I wish I did more at an early age!
being barren, decides to reserve comments, and thinks that just throwing peanuts at Commodore is more fun...
I was fortunate that my parents shared your vision and put me on a swim team when I was 6, which I competed on until I entered HS. After one season of sitting the bench for my high schools JV football team (my swimming prowess did not translate very well). I ended up running track and cross-country and had a pretty successful HS career at both. I'm not sure on your assertion about swimmers being better students as a generality...but I did pretty well. After entering college, I rowed crew for one year (I wasn't quite good enough to make a Pac-10 track team). That was nearly 15 years ago. I'm now in my mid-thirties and couldn't be more grateful about the sports I participated in as a youngster.
As for the golf, man I wish I learned when i was a kid. I stink.
Hey Comm, just stopping by again to wish you and your family a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Thanks for your insight and help with my Nutrition questions. Phil
Isn't Bolder a punk? ;) Com, you nailed it with the getting kids going young thing. I think that the sooner they learn to work hard for something, the better. Right on there :)
And I LOVE that Nip/Tuck show - it's like a car accident, lol :)
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