Transcript
[FOOTSTEPS]
GROUP LEADER
Ah, I see a lot of new faces here. Who wants to go first?
JILL
Hi. I'm Jill. I'm a recovering soccer mum.
ALL
Hi, Jill.
JILL
Ever since Bailey was five I've been driving her to early morning practices, after school games, weekend tournaments, summer camps, Indoor Winter League, Sprautumn League.
GROUP LEADER
Sprautumn?
JILL
Spring-slash-autumn. I lived in my van. I never saw my husband, but it was OK, because my sacrifice was making Bailey a better player.
GROUP LEADER
But we encourage our kids to play sports so they become better people.
JILL
Tell that to the little brats who play other sports during the rest of the year, and then steal all the spots on the soccer team.
GROUP LEADER
Perhaps those kids are better athletes because they play other sports.
JILL
That makes no sense. Hmm?
Bailey is out there every day kicking the ball until her feet are numb.
GROUP LEADER
You say that like it's a good thing.
JILL
And then one day out of nowhere, Bailey tells me that she doesn't want to play soccer anymore. She can't even look at a soccer ball. After all the years I put in!
GROUP LEADER
How old is Bailey now?
JILL
Going on seven. Why?
GROUP LEADER
When a child plays only one sport, sometimes they have a higher risk of suffering repetitive injuries. They can burn out, and they get turned off sports altogether.
JILL
I found myself at 5 o'clock in the morning the other day sitting in the van. Then I realised, I'm not a soccer mum anymore.
GROUP LEADER
Encourage Bailey to try different sports.
JILL
So I shouldn't have sold the van?
GROUP LEADER
Would anyone else like to share?
TODD
Hi, I'm Todd.
ALL
Hi, Todd.
TODD
I bet the farm on my son playing in the NBA. Literally. I took out a second mortgage on the family farm to pay for basketball camps. Things were looking great for a while. Justin made varsity in middle school, but then--
GROUP LEADER
Did he get injured?
TODD
Worse. He stopped growing. He's 5' 5". Genetics is a cruel mistress. I can't even look my own son in the eye now. It's not because he's so darn little.
GROUP LEADER
Is it because you're going to lose the farm?
TODD
No. Because he's playing on the JV team.
[SIGHING]
GROUP LEADER
But is he having fun?
TODD
I never asked.
GROUP LEADER
Maybe you should, Todd.
WOMAN
We're with you, Todd. As a parent, you just want to see your child succeed.
DAVID
Our Daniel could have played in the NHL. He went to all the day camps, straight into night camp, hockey school, hockey-hockey.
GROUP LEADER
Hockey-hockey?
WOMAN
Twice the hockey, and no school.
DAVID
We thought he was the next Wayne Gretzky. He wasn't even the next Brent Gretzky. He hasn't been on skates in 15 years.
GROUP LEADER
Early sports specialisation can actually hurt a child's overall athletic development. And by encouraging their son to only play hockey, they may have actually hurt his chances for succeeding.
But what is Daniel doing now?
WOMAN
David doesn't like to speak about it.
GROUP LEADER
It might help to share.
DAVID
He's a-- my son is an astronaut.
ALL
Oh!
DAVID
I still have all his hockey gear.
WOMAN
He still keeps his skates sharpened.
DAVID
He's still draft eligible.
WOMAN
He's 34 years old!
DAVID
Gordie Howe played until he was 50!
WOMAN
You need to get over it!
DAVID
I know!
GROUP LEADER
Admitting it is the first step.
How about you? Would you like to share?
WADE
I'm Wade. I'm only here because my son made me.
GROUP LEADER
And why is that?
WADE
He says I'm trying to live vicariously through him.
GROUP LEADER
Is that true? Right.
Well, let's all remember why we encourage our kids to play sports.
WADE
To win!
DAVID
To be a star.
TODD
To get rich.
GROUP LEADER
We encourage our kids to play sports so they can have fun.
ALL
Fun.
GROUP LEADER
And socialise and learn to be part of a team. Is forcing our child to play only one sport and then putting a whole lot of pressure on them to succeed a really healthy thing to do?
WOMAN
No.
DAVID
No.
ALL
No.
GROUP LEADER
Good. Repeat after me. Kids who play more than one sport get more out of sports.
ALL
Kids who play more than one sport get more out of sports.
[LAUGHTER]