Here’s how to ensure they stay active on their own when nothing is there to hold them accountable.
“For most, sports are over at 18, some 22, & for a select few 30.
We tell kidsw to play the long game, but are we prioritizing the development of habits necessary for quality of life in their many years beyond sport?
Moments are fun, but life’s a game of discipline & resilience.”
-Ray Zingler on X
We tend to live in the moment.
And while I obviously don’t disagree with doing so, it is critically important to plan for the future.
You know just like you do with your investment portfolios.
You can still go on that vacation (short lived, in the moment) while strategically planning for your retirement (long term, future).
We should have the same mindset as it pertains to our kids’ health and physical futures.
I love sports. I love the successes, the failures, the overcoming of adversity, the camaraderie, all of it.
But what I love the most is the physical discipline stimulus that they provide.
The kids must go to conditioning.
The kids must go to practices.
The kids must go to the games.
If they want to get better, they must do more.
Sports keep kids active.
But what happens when sports come to an end?
And the accountability/discipline stimulus is no longer?
For most this abrupt stop to physical commitments comes at 18 or 22, and then for a very select few 30ish.
6am workouts are traded for 6am bedtimes after drinking Miller Lite all night and eating greasy pizza.
“Oh, they’ll figure out the health and fitness thing later on in life?”
They will?
Have you seen the health state of the average American?
The average American that our own government desperately wants unhealthy so they can not only control, but profit off medicating them?
They don’t just “figure it out” or “pick it up out of nowhere.”
Especially in today’s world where convenience is the name of the game.
Enjoy their “moments” while they’re playing sports.
Leverage every possible life lesson you can get out of them, (they’re coming harder to come by in the modern landscape of toxic youth sport) but recognize, they are going to abruptly come to an end.
And your child’s future quality of life hinges on the physical decisions they make for themselves in adulthood with, mind you, ZERO outside discipline stimulus to hold them physically accountable.
You want the secret sauce?
Get them with a physical preparation coach in their early years who will help them positively associate with the concept of fitness.
Engrain that sh*t in their DNA.
The quality of their lives truly depend on it.
