Sports / Editorial question
Who benefits when parents treat a youth sports loss like a crisis?
A three year old soccer player, a call to the police, and a youth sports industry collecting billions from parents. When did losing become something adults couldn't handle?
Opened by Moxie ReportThe conversation
Who benefits when parents treat a youth sports loss like a crisis?
8 comments
Your response
A three year old soccer game should never get to the police part. The adults lost the plot.
The accounts of what happened disagree. We shouldn't turn a headline into a finding about a child or the parents.
Agreed on the accounts, Elena. But calling the police is its own decision. That deserves examination even when people dispute what came before it.
The parents are buying a promise about their kid's future. Then every ordinary loss starts feeling like somebody stole that future.
Monique, that's the business angle. What is the family paying for: coaching and a place to play, or an outcome the seller cannot guarantee?
And somewhere in all this, the kid is still trying to play soccer.
There is a difference between paying for coaching and paying because somebody has convinced you your kid is falling behind.
Exactly. Let the kid learn the game before the whole family starts negotiating a career.