I am not sure how things are for most of us but for me and the area I am from sports is a part of raising our kids. Not with the intention of pressuring them or with some grand dream of becoming professional athletes, but to help with the socialization that is needed. I will admit I am an avid sports fan and my wife would wholeheartedly agree lol. Fortunately I do not see my kids as an outlet for my need for sports in my own life. There is no shortage of activities and I have my son currently in baseball, football, soccer and swimming as for my daughter she is in dance and swimming at this time as she narrowed down to what she enjoyed most. Between practices, games, meets, and competition there is no shortage of continued socializing and activity.
As a dad all I ever want are my kids to be happy so I am careful to watch them in their activities and I try to be aware if they are doing it because they enjoy it not because as a parent I feel it is important for them to be involved in sports. I constantly see the parents mothers and fathers who put pressure on their young kids to be the best or to always win and I will never fully understand that. As a youngster myself I enjoyed playing sports and like many I had that childhood dream of being a pro or becoming a famous athlete, but I would not try to transpose those ideas onto my kids. To me it is as simple as are they having fun and are they trying their best. At the ages of 6 and 8 they are so young I just want them to do the things they enjoy most and just continue to foster that for them.
Obviously none of us are just born and pick up a ball and are instantly great at any given sport. We begin at young ages and in these times we can also begin to shape early friendships which is great but these are also times our kids can be made to feel left out. If one kid is not as good at sports then his or her friends then can be left behind by these friends. As a dad it is something I have experienced as my son is behind with his coordination so as much as he has fun he is still learning and it is so hard to see when his friends will leave him out because of this. This is painful as a father but I understand it is necessary for my son to learn as much about the negative in life and in turn learn how to cope. We continue on and I keep looking for things he may enjoy and have early success with to encourage him to be a positive person and strive for more.
Kids are not born loving sports so they take all their cues from us. I watch plenty on TV for sure but I never tried to pull them into my world as a sports fan but yes there are times I wait and hope they will join me in cheering my favorite teams on. By the way in case anyone is wondering those teams are as follows: MLB (NY Mets) NFL (49ers) NBA (NY Knicks), and NHL (NY Islanders). I do follow golf as well college sports as well so I definitely can find plenty to watch or get into especially when you add on fantasy football which of course is a must for me! I still have not been able to take them to a live professional sporting event but I do look forward to the wonder on their faces to experience the large scale that these live events can be. That will hopefully be a big step towards them wanting to get into being a fan of any sport or team.
I am sure a few of you out there get to coach your kids which is pretty awesome but I usually do not have the time or means to do so and it is just another way I sometimes feel I am missing out as a dad. I do try to practice what we can at home when the weather is nice. Having a catch with your son is just something so pure it can be such a positive way to escape the stress of life a bit. If you are a dad and have seen the last scene of the movie Field of Dreams you know how it can choke you up. I just enjoy playing and working with them on anything they enjoy.
I have no idea where all the sports activities will lead as my little ones are still so young, but would be fun to see them grow into one or two things and I would definitely be one proud papa no matter how they did. I cannot stress enough the importance to stay grounded when it comes to any expectations you place on your kids when it comes to sports. It can be a fine line especially when the child is gifted athletically. Even the best athletes have so much stress to deal with and they would need to be the steady rock that is always there supporting them no matter what. We have all seen too many times how parents can become quite rabid at their kids sporting events and you need to imagoine what it is like for their kid out there playing? You never want the relationship between your kids and sports to become a toxic one. In the end they may not even get into sports that much and yes that is ok!! The whole point is to expose them to as much as you can and find what interests them so you can foster that positive development.