91猫先生

From the desk of Wally Dawkins, Athletic Director:

The poster has made an indelible impression upon me for many years. If you can imagine the picture of a man, standing halfway between two impressions.聽Above him and to his right, is a picture of the heavens, with a bright light shining out from above the clouds. Obviously representing God, The Father.聽Below him and to his left, is a picture of the planet earth as it would look if taken by a satellite, from thousands of miles away. Suspended in the middle of those two impressions is the man, with one hand reaching out in an effort to grasp what is Godly, while the other hand stretches out in an attempt to grasp 鈥渢he world.”

The heading of the poster reads, 鈥淭HE MOST MISERABLE MAN IN THE WORLD.”

This poster is in obvious reference to the man who is trying to serve two masters. One side of this person wants what is holy and spiritual, while the other side of the man grasps for the riches and material attractions of the world. We are told this is impossible in Matthew 6:24, 鈥淵e cannot serve both God and mammon.”

An attempt to serve both, will make a person “miserable.”

On a less serious side, over the years I have seen athletes who are constantly trying to serve 鈥渢wo masters.” 聽It鈥檚 not the God or The World choice鈥�but coach and parent.

As parents, our agenda is usually somewhat skewed. If you don鈥檛 believe me, I encourage you to go to your child鈥檚 next game. The sport doesn鈥檛 matter. Video your child鈥檚 game. Now go home and watch the video. Watch the video and see who you are the most focused on. For 99% of the parents, you will catch yourself videoing the movements and play of your child more so than that of the team.

It鈥檚 those children we like to video that end up playing a cruel trick on those of us who are parents. It鈥檚 called the 鈥淚 have to have you, I really need you, I no longer need you trick. When your child is young, chances are you are the source selecting the activities your child is involved in. Financing the cost of the activities. Providing transportation to the activities. And even the coaching of the activities, which probably includes researching the activity to become more knowledgeable which means being able to provide insight and instruction.

All of a sudden, your child is in Middle School. Suddenly, your role as parent鈥�changes. They have a coach. They have a driver.You as the parent, find yourself on the outside鈥�looking in.

This is the normal progression. It happens to all of us. Although we can find ourselves feeling a little awkward or left out, it actually is the best way, the right way and most advantageous way for the your athlete to succeed.

On many occasions, I have seen the athlete become 鈥渢he most miserable man (or woman) in the world” because the parent is telling them one way to do things, while the coach is instructing the athlete to do it a different way. The athlete tries to please both, and ends up in a bad mental state because if the two entities鈥�parent and coach, are promoting different points of view, the athlete gets caught 鈥渄angling鈥� in the middle. Just like the poster.

Once our kids enter Middle School, and play on the school team, athletes should focus on discovering what it is the coach is wanting them to do, and then work hard at trying to do it.聽 The parent鈥檚 role now shifts to encourager, counselor, and the biggest fan. Of the child and the team.

Parents who second guess, criticize, or directly oppose the direction the school coach鈥�in front of the child, end up only hurting the child. Now don鈥檛 get me wrong, parents can provide useful tips on how to improve their child鈥檚 individual game, while bettering their skills and fundamentals. But parents also need to know when it is time to 鈥渂ack off鈥� and allow the coach to be鈥�the coach.

At 91猫先生, we have hired 20 full-time coaches to not only improve our students athletically, but to promote academic success and spiritual development. Encouraging your child to follow the directions and strategies set forth by the coach will not only cause the child to be a 鈥渉appier camper,鈥� but allow the parent to focus on instilling self-confidence while being 鈥渟upporter-in-chief鈥� of their athlete.

Believe me, this approach works!

And that鈥檚 another reason to be 鈥淎LL ORANGE鈥濃��All The Time!