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<p>The following haven’t done so badly despite not having great singing voices:</p>
<p>Most folks in the Punk and some in the Metal genre…including some of the most notable names in '80s hair metal. </p>
<p>Oasis singer (Yeesh!)</p>
<p>Beegees…need I say more? :D</p>
<p>^^^ Yeah, but it isn’t always about the voice. It can be about the performance (hello hair metal) or the song writing (hello Bob Dylan), or the “moment in time”/marketing factor (hello: Friday, Friday)</p>
<p>It is a bit of a problem when you don’t have any of those ;)</p>
<p>I always laughed at the idea of a time traveling Bob Dylan on American Idol: “Okay, with good job with the folksy songs, but next week can you sing a show tune or a hard rock song?”</p>
<p>Go, Rangers!</p>
<p>Sometimes, my HS team adds years to my life, for sure. </p>
<p>We are FNL fans. On the Buzzfeed quiz, I was Coach Taylor. I was sad not to be Tami, but all my FB friends said I definitely was Coach. I’m going to take that as a compliment. One of ds2’s floormates bought him a Dillon Panthers T-shirt because he knew he loved the show so. And because he made his floor binge-watch it with him.</p>
<p>Unlike some parents, we do not expect top performance at every meet or every race from our athlete. We also like to leave criticism about a particular race up to the coach. Performance at mid season can be significantly decreased in the middle of a heavy training cycle when the coach does not allow his athletes to rest. Over a season competition fatigue can set in and negatively affect performance as well.</p>
<p>What we have come to expect is full effort during practice. Our athlete is fully rested for maybe 3 meets a year. These meets can be nerve-racking to watch because it is difficult to predict outcomes. In addition as one progresses from district to regional to national level meets the number of parents from your team decreases and the number college coaches watching your athlete increases.</p>
<p>I am in the midst of my twenty sixth high school sports season… Three kids, seven different sports. Add into that all the rec leagues and travel clubs… I have spent my fair share of time on bleachers, on lawn chairs, at tournaments, at track meets, at crosscountry events. All three had the opportunity to play/run at the college level. The first two chose to move to club teams in college because (for them) academics trumped the sport. The third is still in high school. </p>
<p>I have witnessed my share of crazy and obnoxious sports parents. </p>
<p>TheGFG said:
“For example, this weekend was a holiday weekend for our family, so I was tired and busy. Thus I did not prepare my D for her race with a discussion of possible strategy as I often do. (Yes, the coach should do that, but he doesn’t. D is an excitable freshman and still needs some calming guidance.) On Saturday, it would have helped her if I had thought to warn her that in her race was a relay team with one of the fastest high school times in the country this season. D then would have been more conservative in her start, and probably would have let that girl go rather than try to chase her. That mistake needlessly cost her a few seconds, in theory at least. Sure, one day D can prepare her own self if she has the time and knowledge, but even pros need coaches. And this week she was too busy working on a huge English project to take any time to research the meet. Also, sometimes you can’t find out pertinent information online in advance, so while her mind is on her warm-up and getting to the start-line, I can quickly scope out who’s also coming to the start and give her some last minute input if it’s important. It’s not big deal if I don’t, but mental preparedness can help a good bit to maximize performance. I think it’s unfair to suggest that because I knew what I did about another team that there is something wrong with me. Parents of average athletes or non-athletes might say it’s “scary” or “crazy,” but parents of other top athletes would likely be doing the same as I am.”</p>
<p>I can’t imagine that anyone would think it was scary or crazy to discuss race strategy with a young runner, particularly if you have a coach who isn’t doing that. However, learning to run your own race, to ignore the runner next to you who is distractingly fast off the blocks, or the team bungling the batton, is an important long term lesson for a runner, and sometimes the best way to internalize that is to experience being thrown off your own strategy once or twice. </p>
<p>@Alh siad:</p>
<p>“I agree we are responsible, to a certain extent, for getting our slackers educated and out into the world. However, some people are just not type As. They are happy not being type As. At a certain point do we just let them be? Is it our responsibility to nag or berate children who prefer not to live up the their potential? And if so, at what point should we quit the nagging? 18? 21? 30? never?”</p>
<p>Definitely struggling with this with one of my kids now. What is the line between not being type A and being “lazy” or unmotivated? At what point does it shift from an acceptable personality difference to a “problem” that needs fixing? The competitive nature of the job market (and probably my own age) make it harder to be completely relaxed about his path, thinking he will have trouble supporting himself. It is definitely challenging when your kids do not follow the expected path. </p>
<p>At one meet, a teammate of D’s ran very well. I commented to the group of our team’s parents watching, “That was a great race for Susie! I think that’s a PR (personal record) for her!” Several moms practically took my head off. They demanded to know how I knew how fast the girl usually runs, and said it was really “scary” and a little “creepy” that I know what her PR is. After all, they don’t even know what their own kids’ PR’s are, they claimed. Also, people think it’s odd that I time races I’m interested in. I do that because often there is no large clock at the finish line, so I find the long hours of watching races more interesting if I know how fast the winners are running. I also time the faster girls who are running the same events as my D that day. As for the teammate I had complimented, she had run on several relays with my D, so I knew what her times were by looking at the coach’s posted meet results which include relays splits. Also, at the end of the winter season, the coach gives every athlete a season summary with performance lists for the whole team. I looked at it. That’s “crazy” I guess.</p>
<p>So my point is, parents (mostly the other moms, I should say, since It’s definitely more acceptable for dads to be interested) think they are “normal” to just come and clap and be no more aware than that. They wait for their child to tell them if s/he ran well or not. I made the mistake early on in my bleacher-sitting to make conversation like, “Oh, John looked really strong in that race. Was that a good time for him?” I gave up. Most parents don’t time their kids, have no clue whatsoever what’s a fast time for their child, or even what’s a fast time in general for a 400m. or 3200m. race. When they learn the time from John, they’ll laugh and say, “He ran a .49. Is that good?” Furthermore, they believe their lack of knowledge means they’re cool, relaxed parents. I, on the other hand, “need a life” because I pay close attention to what’s going on at the meet and with the sport in general. At the last meet, I commented to my S, “Baker split a 53 this week.” That is a girl sprinter from our state who is going run for my D’s college team next year. S said, “Yeah, I saw that too.” A parent who overheard us said, “Isn’t that a little scary that you know that?” </p>
<p>Again, the word “scary.” What’s the implication of that word? Some frightening tendency, right? That we are OVER-interested, OVER-involved? Heck, my older D runs for a top 10 college team that has Olympians on it, and these commenters at least know she runs for a good sports school. So why is it then odd that I know a lot? Well, I suppose it’s odd because they don’t know or care, and people think they’re normal and those who differ from them are extreme.</p>
<p>I think the internet makes the overall craziness of college admissions more noticeable. Some people are highly competitive and keep running tabs on the competition. They think they know what kind of students their kids’ classmates are, what kind of ECs they participate in, how well they do on standardized tests, what sports they participate in and how good they are, and even have opinions about the children’s personalities and how suited they may be for a particular college or field. It’s one thing to try to learn what particular colleges value. What’s the point in keeping such close track of kids who aren’t your own? </p>
<p>Personally, I have always been very interested in my kids’ activities, and also in the other kids they were in school and activities with. Why? Because people are interesting, and I got to know those people. In some cases, the other kids were competing with my kids, and I did pay attention to that. But most of the time, I was interested in them because I knew them and thought they were interesting. I understand that some people just aren’t like that, and aren’t interested in other people’s kids, and don’t see why people should be interested in their kids. But I’m still interested in hearing about what’s happening with kids that were in school with my kids. I like them.</p>
<p>If someone is running on a team with Olympians and the parents are not aware of how fast their kid runs, there is definitely a disconnect. The kids don’t get to that level without serious parental involvement, coaches involving the parents and telling them what it takes to get there etc…</p>
<p>@TheGFG: No, what’s scary is that Baker is splitting in the 53s this early in the outdoor season. Damn. </p>
<p>The last sentence of TheGFG’s recent post pretty much sums up the view on CC.</p>
<p>I don’t find it “scary” at all if a parent knows how the other team members are performing, and knows about the competitors in the same league. If a parent is interested, and has a good memory, it just sticks with him/her. The specific advice about race strategy, based on the competition, is what a really good coach would offer. Most high school coaches are too busy to make that possible–not a complaint about them, just an issue of practicality.</p>
<p>There was a post on this thread or another about a three-year-old who was kicked out of a swimming class, due to “holding the others back.” That’s over the top. TheGFG’s level of involvement is not.</p>
<p>You aren’t scary. The sports I understood and could follow, swim and xc, I could have made similar statements and did. And it is certainly within the code of praising other peoples’ kids. Parents do track the real stars on the team and root for them. Those kids do have to develop tougher skin since all eyes are on them. </p>
<p>My serious athlete plays tennis which I don’t follow well. I am like the poster above who says she knows the kid: I can tell more from posture and bearing between points than from the actual game. The action is spread out among a dozen courts, so we, parents and kids, do ask each other “how is he doing?” It is done in a positive and interested way, especially during team season. If someone is bombing, we don’t say it harshly, we usually say gently “it isn’t his day” or “the competition is really on today.” There is an etiquette.</p>
<p>Re the tough skin: my athlete does find himself on center stage being jeered (to the extent the ref allows it) by the other team. It does bug me. I do want to tell them to go away. It does cause me to bring him another Gatorade and throw it over the fence. But I don’t say anything. He, my athlete, seems to take strength from it. He likes to throw it back in their faces by winning. </p>
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<p>If that was not clear, it was about the Texas Rangers and not the slashers on ice from the North.</p>
<p>Worked well last night, but the Athletics make one heck of team. To stay OT, I should say one hack of a scary crazy team. </p>
<p>On a small note about crazy HS football, one should note that ALL the people in attendance at a top divisional games such as As versus Rangers featuring Yu as the pitcher on the mound could have EASILY fit in the infamous Allen Eagles facility in North Texas. How is that for crazy! :)</p>
<p>I don’t think it’s “scary” to know the times for teammates, but in our community it was somewhat frowned upon to comment on someone else’s kids’ times. To other parents, that meant you were paying too much attention, and probably just to compare your daughter to theirs. They saw it as negatively competitive. My husband was an athlete, and was our daughter’s unofficial coach through her high school career. He knew what times were being run all over the country, and what constituted a good or competitive time. He referenced that in order to get our daughter to know what she was aiming for, and if she was nowhere near those times, then she could do well in Wisconsin, for instance, but would not likely get recruited for college. She made the state in her event as a freshman, but quit running after that year. (Very sad parents…)</p>
<p>D told us that she never did like running, and only did it because we wanted her to. (She was good…) But we told her that we never wanted her to do something because WE wanted it, so she quit. She did like tennis, on the other hand, and felt she could do better in that. My husband was a tennis pro, and was her unofficial coach through high school. Good thing because he was probably better at coaching HER than her main high school coach, and he knew her well enough to know when and how to push, and when to back off. He knew what she was capable of, whereas her last coach was more interested in the stars on the team. (She was good, but was not the star). At the matches, however, we sat quietly on the sidelines along with the other parents, commenting when she made a bad play (as others have mentioned), but fully supportive of her and her team.</p>
<p>One time I had to step in as a mother, though. She fought hard in a singles match, and the other girl came in with much fanfare and buzz. D likes to be friends with her opponents, and rarely called out balls. “Well, I thought it was, but I don’t know…” This was hard to sit through given the match was so tight. She fought from behind, but managed to get into a third set. And then she came to the sideline crying. Dad stepped aside – he’s not good with the tears. Mom’s not good with the coaching. I asked what was the matter. She said she was bothered by our reaction to our line-calling. (Okay, we didn’t do very well here. I nearly fell out of my lawn chair on another non-call). I was firm and told her that she needed to call the lines as she saw them, and not give things away. She said she DID call it like she saw it. I told her then if that was how she saw it, then that was the right thing to do. I told her she was right there, and in the best position to make the call. I hugged her and stood with her until the nerves calmed and she was ready to finish this particular battle. She gathered herself and went back in and won going away. </p>
<p>But this is one of the really good memories I have from being a sports mom, and it showed both H and me what our daughter was made of. She does not play in college, and now just enjoys the sport for fun.</p>
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<p>That’s a different attitude than what I’ve seen on some of these threads, Hunt. I’m talking about the families who complain because some “less qualified” kid from their school got accepted to the college that rejected their student. They explain they know the accepted student was less qualified because they know everything there is to know about that kid. I think that’s unhealthy. What you’re doing sounds refreshingly normal.</p>
<p>lol this thread is pathetic, just bunch of old people bragging about their kids.</p>
<p>This is a long thread, and has ventured all over the map. What we’re trying to talk about at this point of the thread is how to parent athletic children without being a “crazy” parent. If this is of no interest to you, @druce1992, then do what others do. Step back a few days, and then step back in when the conversation wanders around to something you’re more interested in. Based on what I’ve read of your posts, though, you seem very enamored of the ability to post anonymously with gleefully silly screeds. Maybe you should consider just ignoring the Parents’ Forum?</p>
<p>Or going off to clean your room. Meanwhile, stay off the metaphorical lawn here. </p>
<p>In the end, “knowing” the competition still doesn’t mean a kid who isn’t that skilled or talented can suddenly compete tons better just by being armed with some facts. Even a talented kid may try, but still not be able to use information to make successful adjustments to his game plan. (No amount of information is going to help anyone compete with Baker, lol.) Either way, it shouldn’t really be threatening to anyone what a parents knows or doesn’t know about other kids’ times. It doesn’t sprinkle magic dust on one athlete and jinx another, and the information is available to everyone who choses to find it so there is no unfair advantage. As I posted earlier, that level of coaching is only reasonable to provide when the kid is in the ballpark and is skilled enough to make reasonable adjustments to his game plan.</p>