short ornery norwegian
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On the parenting thing - just to be clear - here's what I'm saying.
when I was 15 or 16, if I had been a really good athlete, my dad would have told me to keep my head on straight and don't get carried away by all the attention. I'm not accusing anyone of "bad parenting" - I'm just saying that it's easy for kids to get caught up in the hype, and the better support system they have, the more likely they are to stay grounded. That's part of my discomfort with the AAU system - the coaches, "talent scouts" and hangers-on that populate that world in hopes of latching onto a meal ticket. I'm not saying kids don't get the star treatment in high school, but high school programs take place in a school setting with coaches and administrators who, in theory provide some buffer between the kids and the less savory aspects of the recruiting scene.
And speaking of recruiting - there were summer camps and clinics in the 60's and 70's for player evaluation - you just didn't have HS kids jetting around the country to a different tournament every weekend.
I may be the only person who feels this way, but it's how I feel and I'm being honest about it.
when I was 15 or 16, if I had been a really good athlete, my dad would have told me to keep my head on straight and don't get carried away by all the attention. I'm not accusing anyone of "bad parenting" - I'm just saying that it's easy for kids to get caught up in the hype, and the better support system they have, the more likely they are to stay grounded. That's part of my discomfort with the AAU system - the coaches, "talent scouts" and hangers-on that populate that world in hopes of latching onto a meal ticket. I'm not saying kids don't get the star treatment in high school, but high school programs take place in a school setting with coaches and administrators who, in theory provide some buffer between the kids and the less savory aspects of the recruiting scene.
And speaking of recruiting - there were summer camps and clinics in the 60's and 70's for player evaluation - you just didn't have HS kids jetting around the country to a different tournament every weekend.
I may be the only person who feels this way, but it's how I feel and I'm being honest about it.