Marv Marinovich and the training that he put his son through from birth are regarded as many as too extensive and excessive. Todd Marinovich went from being a superstar quarterback at a private high school to a superstar quarterback at a public school. Attempting to build a superstar athlete out of Todd, he created a jailcell of athleticism. The sad fact that Todd found himself in constant legal trouble following his career at USC is in complete contrast to what Marv had hoped to create/nurture/develop.
With all of that said, it is this type of thinking and parenting that has led American athletics and parenting into a quagmire. As we talked about in class, it is possible that the hyperevaluating and hyperparenting involved in this society has lead athletes away from the joy of the sport to the fear in losing or mediocrity.
Answer the following questions with that in mind:
1) What is the role of a parent in preparing a child for athletics?
2) What is the role of society in preparing a child for athletics? (Consider community, park districts, travel programs, etc.)
3) Do you believe that Todd Marinovich had a successful life? Explain.
4) Where do you see this type of parenting in your own life or here at Fremd (in Palatine/Inverness)?
EACH ANSWER WORTH 5 POINTS FOR A TOTAL OF 20 POINTS.
Due April 22nd!!!!!!
Parents should 1) expose their children to only one sport and 2) provide obstacles for the children to participate in the sport. By focusing on one sport, parents demonstrate that sports are not indispensable, and the limited opportunities for a child’s recreation foster a greater appreciation for that sport. Additionally, if a child has access to only one sport, he will get better out of pure necessity--he can’t quit because their are no other options for him. Although this plays into the idea that being good at something doesn’t mean you’re meant to do it, the discipline and link between hard work and results is ingrained in a child. Ultimately, the desire to succeed is learned from playing one sport but can be applied to more later on. Parents should also provide obstacles for their children, like putting homework before playing or not providing top quality equipment/coaching. By forcibly distancing a child from a sport, the desire to play is intensified. Sports become a respite from the demands of life, and children learn to become more proactive in their desire to play. Rather than being hindered by circumstance, a child who loves to play a sport will find a way to play.
ReplyDeleteCommunities, then, are responsible for providing an open space for children to play sports the natural way--outside and with each other. Again, top-notch equipment should not be characteristic of a community because it gives children a reward that haven’t earned and masks the beauty of the sport itself. The community should limit opportunities for “segregated” playing by promoting play within all members of the community. This allows children to maintain perspective of their athletic abilities by placing them in a wider range of talent.
No, Todd Marinovich did not have a successful life because he wasn’t an athlete in the right way. I don’t think he ever truly appreciated the game because he had too many advantages with his dad being a pioneer in training techniques. Because football was his life, it became the aspect that required the most of him instead of his respite, which is why he turned to drugs later on in his life. Additionally, having top-notch training and athletic opportunity prevented Marinovich from becoming a proactive human being. He believed to be a surfer at heart, but did nothing to pursue his passion because he had never had to independently go after a dream. Really, he learned nothing from sports. So, regardless of the obvious slips in morality, Marinovich failed in athletics, as well.
I see what, to me, is a worse form of “Marinovich parenting” in club sports. When my brother played soccer, several parents tried to instill the “I’m the best” mentality within their kids, but without requiring the hard work it takes to become the best. Since the skills often did not match a player’s attitude, kids often adopted a sense of entitlement that allowed them to be lazy and, most likely, stopped their growth as a player. This false sense of achievement left kids with nothing else to work for. However, I believe my dad provided a profound season for my brother the year he coached soccer. After having had several negative experiences with a coach who favored his son over the team (the most notable instance was when my brother was pulled out of a game for scoring more goals than his son), my dad decided to coach his own team at the club. Simply put, his team was the club’s reject players. Even though my brother was a superior soccer player, my dad put him on his team and made sure my brother was not the star. I believe that the contrast between my brother’s abilities and playing time on my dad’s team kept my brother humble, while witnessing the progression of a last-place team to one that could beat my brother’s ex-team was inspiring.
1.) The role of a parent for these athletes is important, yet all roles for parents are important. You have to take care of your kid an make sure they're healthy, but Marv took it way too far. He didn't let Todd be a kid. And you can't do that to someone.
ReplyDelete2.) As far as athletics go, it is important to make sure your kid is involved in different leagues, but also let them play other sports to change it up a little. And make sure they are passionate about the sport and don't just play it because the parent is making them.
3.) I believe that because he went to the NFL, he was a success. But i dont know if i would really call what Todd lived as a "life". No one can live up to what his father put him through. He never lived a real life. If he is unhappy, then he did not have a successful life.
4.) I have never seen this type of parenting around Fremd. I dont know if it does happen but i have never seen anything like it, at least to this extent. And no parent should ever do this kind of thing to their kids.
1.) The role of a parent is important in order to pursuade their child to want to play the sport. Showing the child what the game is all about and how they can be involved is a good thing. A parent shouldnt take it out of hand though by forcing thier child to preform in a sport that they dont feel comfortable playing.Forcing a child to play a sport is the worst thing you can do because the young athlete will be discoraged and wont enjoy playing the sport. All he will be waiting for is that practice/game to end.
ReplyDelete2.) Leagues and teams are established in order to prepare/advance athletes to help them suceed in the future. There are no stars early on because the sport is not the same when the kids grow up into High School and College sports leagues. Society is here to help its athletes get better not make them superstars.There are all kinds of programs out there for athletes. They need to decide what level they are comfortable playing at and will be the best benefit to them.
3.) He did live a sucessful life as an ATHLETE because he played in college and the NFL but his early life i wouldnt think was very enjoyable. He had too much pressure from his father to really be a happy kid growing up. He also made bad decissions with drugs/alcohol that gave him a negative reputatation. His father pressuring him so much early on made him try to enjoy being on his own causing him problems.
4.) For example in Hockey whenever i would come in for our games, little league parents would be screeming out their lungs and yelling at their kids. There only like 5! Many players i know were made to go to 2-3 hockey camps at pee-wee level. Some parents try to pursue their children into the sport without knowing what their child feels about the situation. I dont really see this stuff happen anymore as students get into highschool. Older athletes seem to pursue themselves to get better by training/lifting. There is a certain extent that parents can get involved but athletes themselves are the only ones that can motivate themselves to get better.
1.) A parents role when it comes to there kids sports should be simple. Giving your kids confidence and enceraging them to compete and be a leader is key at a young age. If your just way to intense and in a kids fase it can put them down and discourage them from playing to their full potential. When they grow a little older I believe it's acceptable to push your kid a little more and start to encourage more training if you known that they are really capable of sucsseding in their sport. But at the end of the day it all depends on how much the kid is willing to work. If the parent starts becoming to intense then it can just ruin that will to play.
ReplyDelete2.) Society's role when it comes to kids sports can get complicated at times. The job for the community is to make sure every kid has a chance to play if they are interested. House leagues for sports should just teach basic fundamentals and build there future as an athlete. It's also important that these teams are fair and every kid has a chance to play. But then travel teams come along and all the politics start based on who you know and are friends with. Some really good athletes can get left out and replaced with the coaches friend who doesn't deserve to be on a travel team. Society's role should be to make it fair for every kid at all levels so they all have a chance.
3.) Tom's life was a double edged sword. He was sucsseding with football and he was a really good athlete. However he did not have a childhood his dad trained him 24-7 and he never had a chance to be a kid. In the long run he just got sick of it and started to resort to drugs which in my opinion is partially his dads fault. His dad never let him expirance a kids life. Once he got that freedom in college he took advantage of it some very risky ways expirancing different drugs. He could of easily put his football career in jeopardy and all that work down the drain. But he was just took good of an athlete to let drugs fase him. Tom was still amazing at football while in his drug fase. His college career was like living two lives a druggy and a football star so it is hard to say if he had a sucsseful life.
4.) I have honestly never seen parenting to that extent here in this area. There are some intense parents in football but that's just how football is around here no parents are making their 10 year old train 24-7. I feel like most of the crazy parents are associated with baseball in Palatine. There are just do many travel teams all the parents want their kid on a team and parents spend a ton of money on training and equipment and they just push it way to much at a young age. Then once there kid gets to highschool they get cut because they didn't even diserve to be on a travel team in the first place and all that money and time goes down the drain.
1) A parent's role in athletics should be to support their child. Sometimes parents think that they are the personal coach for their son or daughter but the child really needs support from the parent and instruction from the coach. It's okay for a parent to suggest some changes but not to become the coach.
ReplyDelete2) Communities need to grow children's interest in sports. This could mean a variety of things. First that they could provide a place where people can play and also a league where they can compete. An early interest in sport is vital for a person to continue to play a sport into adulthood but this needs to be fostered with the above resources.
3) I believe that he did not have a successful life despite his accomplishments on the football field. It is evident that he had talent because he wouldn't have been as successful if he didn't. His problems off the field however didn't allow him to have a successful life overall. His dad gave him an oppressive upbringing which didn't allow for him to do things his own way so he acted out. This lead to his career on the field to be ruined.
4) I haven't experienced a parent coaching their kid as hard as Todd's dad did but you definitely see parents in the stands at games that hold their kids to very high standards. Just last week at a soccer game, my mum commented on how a parent from the other team spent the whole game yelling at their daughter. At one point in the game she did a very good turn and the parent didn't even praise her for it.
1) A parent's role for athletics is to give their child confidence and support. At a young age parents should introduce their child to many sports and convince them to play the sport for fun or a house league. If the child doesn't like the sport the parents should accept their child's decision and move on. However, if the child loves and excels in a sport the parent should encourage and train the child for the future. I believe parents can help train their child for a sport, but there has to be limits for the child. Marv had no limits for Todd and Marv didn't let Todd live the life he wanted.
ReplyDelete2) Society should encourage children to be involved in sports and athletics. Joining community leagues or public sports clubs gives kids the opportunity to play with others their age and experience the excitement of a competitive game. Public leagues can also adapt an early interest in sports that can continue for the rest of their lives. It can also teach them life lessons on how to be competitive, show sportsmanship to players, and to work with others as a team. Society can prepare children for these obstacles by being enrolled in a sport.
3) No, I don't believe Todd Marinovich lived a successful life. Todd had the talent to become a star football player, but he threw that lifestyle away with his heavy drug use. Todd has been arrested many times throughout his career, has been addicted to several illegal drugs, and has thrown away every opportunity that has been put in front of him. Todd had made it into professional football, but his drug and partying influences caused him to shatter his life and career.
4) When I occasionally attend my brother's baseball team games, I notice parents are upset if their child doesn't meet their expectations. When a player strikes out or is thrown out, some parents are irate with their kid and explain what their kid did wrong. I think every parent wants their kid to be the best player and when an error occurs the parent can't believe their child made that mistake and it causes anger and disappointment among the adults. I have not seen parenting to the extent of Marv Marinovich, but parents do set high standards for their children which causes the competitive parenting among parents.
1. A parents role in preparing a child for a sport should be supportive but not taken too seriously. I think some parents take it way too far by prepping their kids at a very young age to succeed at a sport. The best example of this is Marv Marinovich pushing Todd to be the best he can be. I believe the whole point of playing a sport at a young age is to just have fun and play with friends but in this case Marv wanted to start preparing Todd for a life dedicated to football. I believe a parent should just cheer on and support.
ReplyDelete2. I think Society has a huge role in developing young athletes. Kids have the opportunity to start playing sports at a young age through the park districts. I think this is really important because it prepares the kids for better competition later in life and developes their skills.
3. I believe Todd had a successful life as an athlete but not as a person. When Todd was younger he was seen as one of the best young athletes to ever play football and eventually made it to the NFL which is not an easy thing to do. At the same time I think his father put too much pressure on him by not letting him be a kid. His childhood was focused all around football and was never given time to be with his friends. When Todd got his freedom in college he got into a lot of trouble because he loved not having any rules. overall i think his dad put too much pressure on him to succeed.
4. I have never seen parenting like this at Fremd. The closest thing i have seen to this is all the parents yelling at the coaches from the stands at football games.
1. Parents should defiantly sign their child up for sports when they are young. But not to Todd's condition. He was seriously treated too harshly. Parents should let their child get used to sports at a young age so they like it and get used to it and stay in fit.
ReplyDelete2. Society is a great deal to help children get their daily exercise. This can increase more chances for children in doing sports in high school.
3. Todd had a decent life but obviously not as great as it would of been. He had an amazing career but he threw it all away as he got hooked on to drugs and partying. Hid father was kind of to blame for this but not fully. Todd went down the wrong path and never healed from it.
4. Not in fremd, but i have seen mostly Asian parents take it too hard on their children for education. It is almost absurd because all they do everyday is study and they have no social life or exercise. But i have never seen parents take sports this seriously as in Todd's life.
1. I think that parenting has a huge role in preparing your child for sports. You need to prepare them that there will be someone better with more skill and you just need to practice to try and achieve their level. There will always be the kid that is a favorite. That sportsmanship is a huge role.
ReplyDelete2. I think that society prepares the kids with sports in the chance that they will be judged no matter what.
3. I do not believe that Todd had a successfull life just because he was amazing at football and was top notch every year that he played he didnt get to live the normal childhood life. At all.
4. I see it in soccer and baseball at young ages around here.
1)There are no true way to. It all comes down to this, a child never personally chooses what to do. When they are old enough to make there own decisions i believe they should start being pushed if they show interest. I believe that it should be a nice 50/50 ration because too much pressure to excel in something might be too much for a child. Todd is the perfect case and point.
ReplyDelete2)Society makes it seem that every kid is destined to make it to the nfl, even though statistically only .2% of all high school students ever make it to the NFl. Society makes it seem that if your child is not a star than he will grow to be a failure, which is a shame because not everyone in society can be the perfect sport star. Travel teams and little league seem like way to get a feeling if your child likes it but it should not be revolved around it 24/7 like how Todd did.
3) Do you believe that Todd Marinovich had a successful life? Explain. By definition successful means "Accomplishing an aim or purpose" or "Having achieved popularity, profit, or distinction.", Todd did achieve his goal of becoming a professional football player, and he also did gain popularity and profit while being very distinct. According to the actual definition he did technically achieve a "successful life", but a successful life, i am not exactly sure if there is truly such thing as a success story that we can get from Todd, so no i do not believe he had a successful life, because life is not a textbook, there is more to "Success" than that.
4) I Have thankful not had a experience with someone over parenting a child. The possibility of that kind of thing happening in this area is very possible because we want to make our children to be the best in the world at something
1.) I think the role a parent should have for preparing their child for sports is to just encourage them to do their very best, and acknowledge and understand why/if they want to quit the sport or activity. But I think that parents should put their kid in every activity they can when they are younger. It helps to open their minds to new things and later in life they will do that with their kids and so on. It just opens up new opportunities and maybe you find something that you love that you wouldn’t have tried on your own.
ReplyDelete2.) I think that society is the biggest role. To me society for sports means primarily the coaches, but also the outside influences, and especially your teammates. Coach’s jobs when you are younger are to teach you the game and the fundamentals of playing that game. As you grow up things get a little faster and more complex. Society is supposed to give you the “hard” part of the learning process of that sport. That’s my opinion because I always had a grandparent who would push me and push me and then finally I broke, and quit something I loved because I felt that I was losing something I loved and it wasn’t fun for me anymore.
3.) I think that Todd M. in a way had a successful life but then in other ways I don’t think so at all. I think he was successful in the sense that he won all the awards and trophies and all that, but the fact that he overcame all of his drug problems and emotional problems is amazing, there is a very few percentage who can fight addiction and he was very successful in that way. He wasn’t successful in some ways because he obviously found drugs and all that but he literally had no control over himself. He would party all the time, he seemed to not care about showing up to football games/practices sober or mentally in the right place to be able to perform good. Being that selfish let his teammates down, because when you join a team you make a commitment. And I think that by making some of the decisions he did it was letting down his teammates.
4.) There are a lot of obsessed parents now days more than before. With technology parents are becoming way too involved with their kid’s life. And it seems, to me at least, that parents are living through their children more than ever! I had to go through being pushed and forced to practice or go to camps, take hitting lessons, agility classes, games to look at older players techniques, and constantly nagged. I absolutely hated it! But I respect my grandpa for it, because he knew I had a talent and all he wanted was for me to use it and make the most of it, but I have other plans for my future. So I didn’t go through as severe a situation as Todd but I definatly dealt with over obsessed people in life.
1.) The role of a parent preparing a child for athletics should be based off of their kid. If his/her kid wants to play a sport then they should let them play that sport and help them along the way. I don't think a parent should force a child into a sport in which they have no desire to play.
ReplyDelete2.)The role of society in sports is much greater than any other role. Rather than a kid being pushed by his father to excel at a sport, at the park he is pushed to elevate his/her game by playing in situations vs. other kids. The kids get a better feel for the sport and understanding when they are playing with other kids and no coaches at the park.
3.)Todd Marinovich had a successful life without a doubt. No matter the way how it ends, he played as a QB at the University of Southern California. Then he went on to join the NFL and make millions of dollars all while having a good time. He found his true self through football and that's why he was successful.
4.) I constantly hear stories about how kids are being forced to play t-ball when they barley even know what it is. I have never seen it first hand but i do hear stories a lot about children being forced to join sports and practice for them.
1.The role of a parent in training a child for athletics is really just to make sure they are healthy enough to participate and some basic skill sets.
ReplyDelete2. The community is responsible for having areas for children to go and learn how to play the sport and do it with other youths there age. They also must teach the child responsibility and respect for those in the sport.
3. I believe that he has as much of a good life as he could have with the insane way he was brought up. although I'm sure he may feel sometimes that he took some very wrong turns.
4. I don't ever seer this especially to the extreme Marv took it to. But in my life the most comparable is when you see those little girls who are in the beauty pageants and stuff like that.
1. The role of a parent is to get there children involved. It does not have to be a sport specifically but it is vital for them to be involved in an activity of some kind.
ReplyDelete2. The community is responsible to have organizations and a park district for kids to be able to play sports or join groups such as drama or other activities.
3. After eventually digging himself out of the huge hole he got into I think he's at a place where he is better.
4. I've never seen any parenting like tat and hope that I never will.
1. The role of a parent in sports for children is to teach them the fundamentals.
ReplyDelete2. The role of society in sports for kids is to teach them how to be a good sport and keeping kids involved.
3. In a sense I believe Todd had a successful life because he is now drug free and lives a happy life with his family.
4. You see this type of parenting when a father has a son or daughter that he wants them to be as good as he once was. They want their child to fill their shoes.
1. The role of a parent in preparing their child for sports and athletics is just to introduce different sports to them and see what they like. Most parents will try to push a sport down their child’s throat but that can create too much pressure and take the enjoyment out of the game.
ReplyDelete2. The role of society in preparing a child is by creating opportunities for them. Putting together teams or having camps and such at a local park district. By providing these types of things it allows children to play sports and get a feel for them early on.
3. Yeah I do think that Todd had a successful life. But I’m only basing this on his athletic accomplishments. Outside of that he wasn’t able to be much due to constantly being under the ridiculous pressure of his dad.
4. There are always those annoying parents at games that are yelling and screaming about a bad call or are being way too loud and obnoxious for a little league game. It’s not uncommon to see those parents who put lots of pressure on their kids because they wish it was them. I mean just look at the show Dance Moms. That’s really the only example needed.
1) all a parent should be required to do is set there kid up for success anyway they can. A parent can go over the top though, I have seen many star athletes who could play Division 1 sports decide that they were burnt out after high school. Parents need to be supportive and help a kid when they ask or when they really feel it is needed.
ReplyDelete2) The role of society is just how good the competition is. Fremd is good at sports every year because we have good youth programs and travel teams to play on. Also, kids have been playing there specific sport or 2 since they could remember. A school like Wheeling struggles because they probably dont have the competition at a young age.
3) I think Todd figured a lot of things out in his life. Hes definitely had a few rough patches but overall i think he has learned from his experiences. I truly believe that in the end he will be as happy as he possibly could because he has tried so many routes to get there. one of the routes will eventually be the key to door for his happiness.
4) This type or parenting is rarely seen. Surprisingly i think you would see it more at a tee ball age than a high school baseball age. or younger ages in any sport. parents dream of their kid being a professional athlete and making millions of dollars but by the time these kids are in high school i think parents are a little more realistic with what they want for their children.