When are parents over the top?

[mwingate]

Just read an article in LA Times about Shabazz Muhammad's father purposely breeding for athletic success and shaving off years to do so and he's called "genius"

Shabazz Muhammad Story
http://www.latimes.com/news/columnone/la-fi-shabazz-muhammad-inc-20130322-dto,0,3133186.htmlstory

I also read an article in the wall street journal about Jeron Love and his father who put up a YouTube campaign creating an illusion and buzz that his son was the #1 point guard in the nation and then created his own ranking website to prove it. His father has been classified as shall we say "less than genius"

My questions are, what's genius and what's over the top when it comes to parenting? Does the kid have any say in this? Suppose the kid really wants to be a lawyer and knows it early on?



Jerron Love Can't-Miss Kid, Just Ask Dad

 

[COOSCOOS13]

I DONT SEE ANYTHING WRONG WITH DOING WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE TO HELP HIS CHILD---HOWEVR I FEEL THAT U MUST HAVE SOMETHING TO START WITH IN ORDER TO HAVE SOMETHING TO END UP WITH--
KEEP PUTTING BACK A KID WILL ONLY TAKE U SO FAR--IF U HAVE NO TALENT--NO SIZE NO THEN WHAT ARE U WASTING TIME FOR--
IN THE FRONT END KIDS WILL PROSPER AND GET THE SHINBE THAT THE PARENT WANTS---AND THE KID THINKS HE NEEDS CAUSE HIS PARENT BRAINWASHES IT INTO THE KID--
ON THE BACK END U CAN EITHER PLAY OR U CANT ALL WILL BE REVEALED SOON ENOUGH--CANT HIDE FOREVER--U WILL BE EXPOSED--

 

[psalguy]

Don't see much wrong with this. LOL the kid was about to rip Curtis Loving in the photo still looking at the ball and not up the court in 2009! Seriously, if a kid has a legit shot at getting a scholarship and having a leg up from playing basketball, they should let their parents do the guiding. Too many parents fail to get involved and leave the "player marketing" to outsiders. There is nothing like free college either through sports or academics.

On the other hand, the story Mr. Wingate should be focused on the kids who are D3 bound talent-wise (if they are lucky) and the parents who are trying to imposterize their kids as D1 players. That absolutely has to stop. In fact I'm sending Obama a proposal to have those parents locked up in Guantanamo Bay where they belong. They make the lives of high school coaches, AAU coaches, other parents of other players other players and refs miserable. I say they deserve 5-15 no parole for that offense.

 

[CoachC101173]

I absolutely agree with psalguy. Parents are suppose to be advocates for their children, not apologists. Too many parents allow their children to be mislead by so called "experts." Over the last twelve years, I have had ten kids "going" to the NBA and twenty "going" to Oak Hill Academy but my school has never won a City Championship. Why you ask? The answer is simple. It is because people are delusional. It is time to be truthful. If a child has a legitimate shot to get an athletic scholarship a parent should do whatever it takes to help them, but be honest. I once had a parent tell me that "I was crushing her son's NBA dream" which I responded to by saying that "I am trying to give him a college dream." This poor misguided young man recently spend a great deal of money to play at a prep-school, and two years removed from high school he still hasn't attended college. However, I don't believe that these parents should be sentenced to 5-15 years with parole just because they are blinded by their love for their children. Hell, my wife thinks I am a mix between Jesus, Mother Teresa, and Justin Bieber; love sometimes clouds people's judgement.

 

[psalguy]

This is what it all boils down to. The kids today are living up to the pressure of the basketball floodgates opening up due to the popularity of the game. At 42, I remember there were the Gauchos, Riverside and The Madison Broncos and that's it! Now, in New York, if there aren't at least 100 programs, there are 95. The options are too wide and kids have more of a luxury to go where there are adults playing "coacheepoo" with the kids and telling them and their parents what they want to hear. Even on the school side of thing, the PSAL has added at least 100 new basketball teams over the last 25 years. The game has been dilluted and the amount of basketball "people" has increased.

Parents are more bold and upfront and there are too many politically correct guidelines a coach has to follow to continue to exist as a coach. I grew up when if you had a jersey from a local tournament, you were serious about playing ball. Practicing on the concrete Saturday morning at 8:00AM, riding your bike from park to park looking for an open run. Doing pushups in your room and being in front of a TV Friday night for Dick Stockton and Bill Russel doing CBS Sports or Sunday Afternoon for a Celtics - Sixers and Lakers - Rockets double header and then go out and play in the park until it was dark. It isnt like that anymore.

Kids today are comfortable with peanuts and allowing others to "create" them. I would never let my moms or pops approach my coach as a teenager. Not for basketball, not for karate class and not for ANYTHING! I wanted to fight my own battles and earn mine on my own. These kids don't realize the one picture that is the same on the whole planet is the mirror.

5-15!