Rob Murphy

I don't have kids in High School yet but I've already struggled with this a bit. As a parent you want to encourage your kids to become excellent at something. It would be great if you could identify the Tiger Woods in them at age 5, unfortunately that seldom happens. It seems that the best thing to do as a parent is just let them have as many experiences as possible and let them enjoy what they do. If it turns out they have natural talent it will eventually expose itself.

Great question to ponder. I have 3 girls and did support a specialist approach. However, found out quickly that a child's interests can change quickly and frequently. So I now encourage the more "all rounder" approach and let their heart narrow things down as they age, but making sure they aren't quitting for frivolous reasons (ie best friend stopped playing). I guess I want them to really try their best before dropping something and not commit half way. I do feel that we force sports onto children too early. IMO, sports decisions should wait until 12 yrs., but then you run the risk of not getting in because others have started earlier. I know some parents force kids to specialize early with hopes of earning the coveted college scholarship. I doubt that works out as planned most of the time.

Rob, I'm really wanting to here your thoughts! Should I start home schooling my kids at making them do daily track workouts now while they are 6 and 9?

This is something my hubby and I have talked a lot about. I say go for well-rounded unless they find something they are truly passionate about and are craving it! Even if that does happen (for example, with my Sophia) I highly encourage them to pick at least one other sport/exercise. Let me explain: With Title IX we are seeing a lot of girls who try to specialize in just one sport in hopes of having a good chance at a scholarship. However, these girls seem to train all year round and often end up injured (over and over again) due to muscle imbalances because they only focus on one sport. Boys don't seem (from what I have seen) to have the same problem. Usually if they are into sports they are just driven to do more than one. Kinda crazy, but it is what I have seen thus far.

With all that said ... maybe my vote was simply for well-rounded because I never really excelled at any one thing but seemed to do okay at many things and I just happen to LOVE my life.

Who knows.

Excited to hear everyone's thoughts on this.

Cool ideas. I'd say open doors for your kids and let them explore. My parents never pushed me in anything. But help your kids understand that sometimes everything else in life needs to be set aside to pursue something that you dream about

Well said Steve!

I think Bob is closing in on it... "all rounder approach (early) and let their heart narrow things down as they age" My kids (currently 19 and 21) dabbled in several sports and other extracurriculars through elementary and middle school but ended up in high school with one or two main focuses, of their own volition. My son showed potential in running, tennis and soccer early but is moving on to compete in college track and xc.

Teena's point about things being different for girls is very valid as college approaches. Excellent female high school swimmer/runner friend of my son struggled mightily during high school deciding which to pursue. She kept doing both and it was clear that her running suffered. She got no offers for swimming at colleges of her choice, but did receive running help - could have been more if she focused solely on running jr and sr years?

I had one of ‘those’ parents through high school that pressured me to be involved (and best) in every single activity/club/sport I could fit into a day. It ended up leading me to being completely stressed out and not enjoying any of them by my senior year. I think it also makes a kid think it is not as admirable to only be dedicated to ‘just’ one thing. I can see your frustration as a coach… I remember my coaches/club leaders frustrated with me because of the constant conflicts. Parents need to just stay out of it so their kids can naturally drift to their true passions.

Christie - I just added some thoughts on today's post.