Being a “Sports Dad”

Two fathers at True/Slant reflect on the sports culture that pushes kids to succeed at sports against better parenting judgement. “Benign neglect” is perhaps a better method, they say. “As fathers (assuming we’re involved with our children), there is always a struggle to know how much to push our kids, particularly when it comes to sports. A lot of us have sports we love (mine being basketball), and it seems to validate us as people and parents when our kids choose that sport, and do it well. Of course, we’re the heroes of youth sports league for having provided half the DNA to the star athlete. And if we can coach that star athlete and make great players out of others, all the better. Even when we know otherwise, we fathers are very tempted to push harder to make our children into the athletes we presume they dream of being.”