They use their “good deeds” to camouflage their ulterior motives, which are hidden in plain sight.
“They’ll say ‘it’s about the kids..’
But is it?
In a world that accepts sufficient & even tolerates suboptimal training/coaching for our youth, you’ll be labeled ‘unrealistic’ for calling the bulls*it and working relentlessly to gibe them now what’s acceptable, but what’s best.”
-Ray Zingler on X
Is it about the kids?
No, seriously, is it?
Get off the surface for a minute and think deeply and critically about it.
Are we using the abundance of sound information we have access to, to make the most informed decisions with our children in regard to their global development?
Are the coaches we are PAYING, intentionally focused on doing things the right way? Are they chock full of integrity, sound morals, and belief systems? Are they 100% focused on doing whatever they can to improve our children’s athletic and overall life experience?
Are they eager to encourage training, activities, and ideas outside of their scope because they know that by doing so, they will aid in the global development of our kids?
Are they focused on developing the most mentally, physically, and emotionally robust & stable athletes they can? So that our kids can leverage the best resources to not only enhance their overall experience today, but take the rich lessons with them to aid them in their future?
Or are we settling for what’s acceptable?
Let me take it a step further.. Are we settling for what is tolerable?
Ask yourself these questions and then, again, think deeply and critically about them.
Are there some phenomenal youth coaches out there doing the right things, for the right reasons, 100% focused on the kids?
Yes, there are, and I applaud them. Many of them are residing in towns you’ve never heard of. You don’t know their names, either, because they aren’t focused on themselves, their image, or their personal gain and that is exactly what makes them great.
But as I sit here and critically assess the landscape as a whole, it’s monumentally evident that we do not use a kid-centric model.
We use an adult-centric model in which we let the adult dollar guide the travel system and the good ol boy system guide the public arena. We justify it because we reward “time” as many folks are still around for no other reason than they “close to their 30”.
You’ll be labeled “unrealistic” if you focus solely on the kids and do things strictly for their benefit.
Do it anyway.
And guess what, you won’t have to manipulate to be “rewarded”.
The “rewards” will come naturally.
