Sport or Babysitting?

In coaching kids, some seem to be highly motivated, while others are very nonchalant, still others are disruptive. It is a difficult situation at times, especially with the disruptive ones. They break down the order necessary for successful coaching. The problem is compounded by parents who seem to often think that our program is essentially a babysitting program. They drop off their kids and disappear.

What's worse is that they will often balk at spending the day with their child at a track meet. I understand that many have busy lives and that track meets, with their soft scheduling and plethora of events, can be the bane of tight schedules. While you can't mow the lawn or do the laundry while at a meet, you can read the newspaper, read a book, visit with other parents at the meet, pay your bills, cell phones mean you can catch up with friends, or if you don't mind hanging around just toweled off, you can get in your own road work. It's not like it has to be unproductive time.

Track is a sport, it should be treated as such. Competition should not be avoided, it should be welcomed. After all, it is only by competing that we take the measure of ourselves. We need to compete in life. Why not start now by teaching the kids the lesson of struggling to do your best? Yes, it's often a struggle, and if you are not gifted, competing can sometime be a bit demoralizing, but one lesson that track teaches, regardless of dscipline, is that work pays off, and the harder you work (with reason applied), the faster you improve. In most things in life, this holds true. Shouldn't children be learning this lesson while young?