Former Pro Football Player Urges Parents To Stop Raising Athletes
Let kids be kids.
Lopolo / Shutterstock Getting involved in sports is extremely beneficial for a child's growth and development. It teaches teamwork, dedication, and resilience. Plus, it's an excuse to get them out of the house for a few hours every week (Ahh, some peace and quiet).
I participated in sports growing up, and I wouldn't change it for the world. It truly shaped me into who I am today and brought me some of my closest friends. However, I fully believe that my positive experience with youth sports was because my coaches and parents never expected me to be the best. They only cared if I truly enjoyed doing it.
A former pro football player took to social media to urge parents to stop pressuring their kids to be athletes.
Nate Daniels, who previously played football in the Arena Football League (AFL), is now a coach who helps young athletes, parents, and other coaches achieve success in their sports. He recently posted a TikTok video sharing that his experience in the industry has made him realize that many kids' lives are becoming consumed by sports, and that "we have a bunch of parents that are raising athletes instead of raising young people."
He elaborated, saying that kids can sometimes suffer from being too involved in sports. "Their self-esteem, their self-worth, and their self-image is defined by what they do or do not do on the field or court," Daniels said.
This becomes more of a problem when kids inevitably stop doing their sport, whether it be at the high school, collegiate, or even professional level. By this point, they have grown into young adults, and Daniels argued that kids need to have other interests and passions to be well-rounded when sports no longer define them.
Kids' sports are also disrupting family and social dynamics.
Daniels described how, when he was young, kids' sports were mostly planned with the family structure and schedule in mind. Outings, meals, and other family obligations took precedence over activities. Nowadays, it's the opposite.
Kids' sports schedules take priority, and families are left to figure out how to incorporate their time together around it. Daniels said he feels that this is completely wrong. "The world doesn't need more athletes," he emphasized. "The world needs more good people, the world needs more high-functioning adults with purpose, that are outside of sports."
Discussing a similar topic on Reddit, one user heartbreakingly shared, "I am now a washed up, former student athlete. I played soccer for almost 20 years. I've been out of college now two years. I've come to realize all I ever was allowed to do was soccer and school. I rarely was able to hang out w friends. I sure as hell did not have any other hobbies. Now that I'm finished, I am LOST."
Daniels concluded the video with a sentiment that likely could have helped this soccer player struggling to find their new identity: "Athletics and sports is what we do, it shouldn't be who we are."
The real problem with youth sports lies with the overwhelming expectations placed on kids.
Participation in high-stakes, high-pressure youth sports has become the norm. Parents put their kids in sports with dreams of them achieving the glory and success of elite, professional athletes. Unfortunately, the majority of kids won't ever reach that level.
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Kids should be playing sports simply because playing sports is fun. It teaches them soft skills and provides an enjoyable form of exercise, but these benefits are worthless if their mental health suffers under the heavy weight of expectation.
Donna Merkel, the author of a study on the positive and negative impacts of youth sports on young athletes, wrote, "Participation in sport is widely believed to improve moral character, sportsmanship, and ability to collaborate towards a common goal. However, these secondary gains in sports participation cannot be assumed and must be facilitated by positive role modeling on the part of parents and coaches."
Playing sports should be fun. It's as simple as that. It should not be the only activity they get to experience outside of school.
Kayla Asbach is a writer currently working on her bachelor's degree at the University of Central Florida. She covers relationships, psychology, self-help, pop culture, and human interest topics.
