One of the things we worry about as parents is that our kids will give up on something too soon. That they won't give it a fair chance. Sometimes we worry that our child will be a quitter. But what happens when it might actually be time to quit?
My son started playing competitive soccer kind of by accident. When he was 5 years old he made the community league's tournament team. At the time he was playing house league hockey but, like most 5 year-olds, he wasn't playing any competitive sports so had a pretty open schedule. He enjoyed the soccer and the commitment was minimal. We were all happy.
Plus, wasn't he so cute? This was when he was nearly 7 and started playing on the regular competitive team. Good times.
However, over the years things have changed. The soccer team has become very competitive and this year they won the league and the cup advancing them to the highest level of play next year. The commitment is year round. At least 2 days per week in the winter and 4-5 in the summer. Plus, my boy now plays AA hockey. Summers are off but it is 5 days per week in the winter.
If you did the math that means no free time, ever. That means no lazy summer days. No vacation. No time off. It means a major commitment on two extremely competitive sports teams. in the early days it was not an issue but now, as he gets older, it began to become difficult to balance it all and still have time for whatever.
My son started playing competitive soccer kind of by accident. When he was 5 years old he made the community league's tournament team. At the time he was playing house league hockey but, like most 5 year-olds, he wasn't playing any competitive sports so had a pretty open schedule. He enjoyed the soccer and the commitment was minimal. We were all happy.
Plus, wasn't he so cute? This was when he was nearly 7 and started playing on the regular competitive team. Good times.However, over the years things have changed. The soccer team has become very competitive and this year they won the league and the cup advancing them to the highest level of play next year. The commitment is year round. At least 2 days per week in the winter and 4-5 in the summer. Plus, my boy now plays AA hockey. Summers are off but it is 5 days per week in the winter.
If you did the math that means no free time, ever. That means no lazy summer days. No vacation. No time off. It means a major commitment on two extremely competitive sports teams. in the early days it was not an issue but now, as he gets older, it began to become difficult to balance it all and still have time for whatever.
Just to clarify so you don't think I'm some freakish uber-pushy mom, my boy's biggest conundrum about his schedule? He wanted more time to play other sports! Why couldn't he play baseball? More tennis? Golf? I WONDER.
So, the time had come that he had to make a choice. Did he want to continue with his fabulous soccer team? A group he had been with and grown up with for the last nearly 6 years? But a team that was requiring more and more of a commitment. Or did he want to free up some of his time for other things? We could actually consider a summer vacation.
It was a very tough decision for him but, in the end, he decided that it was time to quit. He wanted to explore other things and didn't want to give up hockey. He is confident his decision is right but knows that he will miss his buddies and the team. It was a great run!
The hardest part was making a choice toward change. Change is scary. What if the unknown is not as good as the status quo? Life lessons for sure.
So, the time had come that he had to make a choice. Did he want to continue with his fabulous soccer team? A group he had been with and grown up with for the last nearly 6 years? But a team that was requiring more and more of a commitment. Or did he want to free up some of his time for other things? We could actually consider a summer vacation.
It was a very tough decision for him but, in the end, he decided that it was time to quit. He wanted to explore other things and didn't want to give up hockey. He is confident his decision is right but knows that he will miss his buddies and the team. It was a great run!
The hardest part was making a choice toward change. Change is scary. What if the unknown is not as good as the status quo? Life lessons for sure.
What decisions and choices have your kids made that have been tough?
The Your Biggest Fan Blog Series is sponsored by Chevrolet. All content is true, based on Jen's personal experience.
The Your Biggest Fan Blog Series is sponsored by Chevrolet. All content is true, based on Jen's personal experience.
Ack. My oldest has quit several things along the way. Dance (after 4 years). Soccer (also after 4 years). Piano (after 2 years). To give her credit, she has stuck with Drama for over 3 years now, but I do get frustrated at her "lack of commitment". On the other hand, one could see it as a desire to try many different things. When I think back to everything I "tried" for one or two seasons (diving, synchro, flute, piano...) I see it as a great experience, not as me being a quitter.
I think your man has made a difficult but necessary choice, and he should be congratulated for being so mature about it. Maybe now he can take up snowboarding and go out riding with his eclectic cousin!