This post was provided by Byron Thomas:
In the movie Boys N the Hood, John Singleton tells a story about three young men (Tre, Ricky and Darin (Doughboy)) growing up in South Central, Los Angeles. All three grew up in the same community and faced with the struggles. Ricky and Doughboy were brothers and they grew up without a father. Ricky was a phenomenal football player and was possibly a future USC Trojan. Tragically, he was murder on the streets of South Central. My question to you is what role does a father play in the success of their sons or daughters today? We typically hear the heart felt stories like Tiger Woods father teaching him how to golf at a young age or even Venus and Serena Williams dad handing them their first tennis racquet. What if Ricky and Doughboy father would have handed them a football? Generalization, can having a dual parent home help in the success of athletes in today’s society?
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I believe parents influence their childrens' athletic endeavors both directly and indirectly. There certainly are many cases of parents like Tiger Woods or the Williams sisters dads, who impacted their kids playing experiences by being directly involved in them. On a lesser scale, there are all kinds of parents who volunteer as youth coaches for teams their kids play on. I would guess that the impact these parents have on their kids experiences is indisputable.
ReplyDeleteI also believe that parents can have an indirect impact on their kids sports participation. How parents view and value sports, evidenced through how they talk about sports in the home, plays a part. How parents conduct themselves as spectators can shape the view of their kids regarding sport. How much a healthy lifestyle is valued and modeled in the home can impact kids' sport involvement.
Both directly and indirectly, parents play a big part in modeling sport behavior in their kids.
I think a kid growing up a dual parent home makes a big difference in the success of an athlete, and not just in regards to sport, but life in general. A mother and a father bring so many different aspects to a child's life, that it is near impossible for one parent to be both mother and father at the same time. There are of course unfortunate situations where this is inevitable and possibly the mother or father left the family, or divorce took place, or possibly even death. My fiancee practically raised himself, although he lived with his mother till he was 17 she was absent mentally throughout his whole life. He was an unbelievable football player in high school and had many looks by colleges. He had no parental guidance or belief in his abilities and he ended up working and not even going to school after High School. Since he was 17 my parents sort of took on a parental role in his life and at the age of 20, Brandon moved to Minnesota to "start over". He lived under the roof of my parents for a semester and went to Community College. My parents encouraged him over and over to give football another chance, and he ended up trying out for SCSU football team and made it. Now he will be graduating in a year and going onto his master's Fall 2011, and 4 years ago, people would have laughed if we told them this would ever happen. So im not saying just because his parents were absent growing up that he ended up not playing football in college, but I think it was HUGE factor.
ReplyDeleteA parent can have such a positive or negative affect on how a kid views sport, as we have noticed throughout this class. Going back to the first video, Friday Night Lights, when one of the boy's dad was so crazy that he duct taped the football to his hands and would beat him up because he couldn't hold onto the football. Although it would be best to have both mother and father present, cheering you along, teaching you the fundamentals, helping pick you up when you fall, supporting you 100%, there are times when this can not take place and an athlete still comes out on the other end. Take Ernie Davis for instance, he was raised by his grandfather who loved him as a father and taught him life principles like don't give up, and go to the Bible for answers to life questions, ect. So although Ernie didn't get raised by both parents, he had a loving supportive grandfather who helped him be the best he could.
This is a great topic Byron, and I feel I jumped around a lot, but there are so many things that could be discussed and SO many factors involved that I didn't really know where to begin! I am interested in reading everyone else's responses
Growing up in a single parent family, I had all the support and assistance that I needed to become a gifted athlete solely from my mother. I am firm believer that children need one influential person in their life in order to succeed. This may be a grandaparent, mother, father, older sibling, or even a coach or teacher. Children need to know that they have someone to believe in them and the majority of them will move mountains to try to please this important person. Obviously, in a perfect world, all children would have two paretns to be there for them but this is not the reality that many children face.
ReplyDeleteI would agree that parents can have a significant impact on their child’s sport experience. This impact can be either positive or negative. I was raised in a home with both parents, with my father being particularly fond of sports. I do not know whether I would have begun playing had it not been for his influence and the encouragement I received from both parents. While I do not believe that having a parent who gets their child involved in sports is the only way for one to become successful, it is difficult to achieve without one. Think about the time and money invested in youth sports. Many children would not be able to participate if it were not for the support from at least one parent. Additionally, I think children are more apt to play when they come from a dual parent home where finances and time may not be as strained.
ReplyDeleteFathers have a huge impact on children's upbringing. I was originally going to do my thesis on single parent homes and the outcome of children vs normal family homes. For boys fathers are there for us to look up to. Everything they do can and will be mimic by the child. As a kid fathers are there to shows us right from wrong along with how to be tough and to persevere. Fathers are a mold for children to follow and I believe without them the grow up lost and constantly looking for that coach or uncle to help fill that void in there life.
ReplyDeleteGreat responses so far!
ReplyDeleteI wanted to share some more famous athletes that have been inspired by their fathers to play sports.
Ken Griffey - Ken Griffey Jr.(Baseball)
Archie Manning- Payton and Eli Manning (Football)
Muhammad Ali -Laila Ali (Boxing)
Bobby Bonds- Barry Bonds (Baseball)
Joe Bryant - Kobe Bryant (GO LAKERS!!!)
Dale Earnhardt - Dale Earnhardt Jr. (Auto Racing)
If you can think of more I would love for you bloggers to add to this list.
My dad may have not picked out my sports, but he did keep me working hard when I simply wanted to quit. My father intense passion and involvement in sports helped my desire to succeed in gymnastics. I can credit my dad's motivtion for the reason I recieved a athlete scholarship to a Divison I school. He told me never to give up, and to also do "2 more than I think I can" which helped my athlete career. I could not imagine life involved in sports without a parents support. Life is hard enough, eveyone needs someone on their side to support them and be their own cheerleader when they trulu need it. My parents were the backbone of my athletic career.
ReplyDeleteMaturation process in male athletes instilled respect, discipline, and honor in man to man settings father. Tre's Father instilled lessons in hard work, discipline, and respect in his household. These lessons were exactly what Ricky and Doughboy missed in their childhood, and led to Tre being the lone survivor in the story.
ReplyDeleteStrong male influences can teach the life lessons that single mothers can never provide, which is the main reason why Tre's mother decides to move Tre in with his Father.
Children growing up with a dual parent home enjoy both discipline and respect from the father and caring and ohter matriarc qualities from the mother. The combination provides the individual with support and guidance that single family parents have trouble taking the advantage of. As for athletes, most grow up without a father figure or in a single family setting, in addition to living in low income environments. Many coaches discuss these issues with the players usually before being drafted and being signed they also provide the players with the resources to be succesful. That is where many non-father athletes have dificulties managing their money issues as the movie demonstrated early on that the two brothers wouldn't help trey rack the leaves for a little money where they could get that money on the street, illegally. However, Trey would do it for free and these lessons learned at an early age would be critical in making life decisions.
I agree that Father's play a significant role in a child's sports career, but I also believe that mother's do the same. I have to admit that my father got me started, but my mother kept me going. If it was not for her picking me up when my dad put me down, I would not be where I am today. He taught me most of the skills, because my mother did not have sports offered to her in her lifetime, but my mother taught me integrity, confidence, loyatly, and how to learn from my failures. I also agree that kids really do need at least ONE positive influence in their life whether it be a parent or another form of a role model.
ReplyDeleteOf my two parents my father was the most instrumental in getting me started in sports and then as I got into high school and college he would be the one who would want to know how things were going in practice, did we have a good game plan, and did everyone seem like they knew what they were working on for the week. I can say for absolute certainty if my father was not in my life I would have never been as successful as I was in sports. Even though my dad was the one most actively involved in my atheltic career, my mom was the glue who held everyone together. If my dad wanted to go to a wresting tournament or down to the state football tournament my mom is the one who picked up the slack at home and made sure everything got done. My mom was the one who made sure my homework was done and my grades in school were good. Without her I don't think I would of been as successful in sports as I was because she allowed my dad to spend a lot of time working with me to make me better and she kept everything working like clock work at home even if Dad or I weren't there to do our normal stuff. I definately believe a dual parent household is a huge advantage to a person not only as an athlete but just as a person in general.
ReplyDeleteI have been thinking about this topic, and found a article from ABC news http://abcnews.go.com/Sports/story?id=99665. The article supports everything that Bryon suggested and also what we all have posted. It has come to the point where a father beat another father to death after a youth hockey game. Not only did the article state that violence has gone too far in sports, but the children are getting more and more violent at a younger age due to the inlfuence of their parents.
ReplyDeleteI agree with most of the previous comments. Having 2 parents in the house while growing up can be a good thing. It allows the child to see different views on things and allows multiple outlets. But parents are not always the best example of how to live, as stated above, with the father beating another father death. Having a duel parent home can lead to success in youth sports because of the time commitment. If there are 2 people that can drop off/pick up/attend practices and games chances are the athlete will succeed.
ReplyDeleteWhile researching more information on this topic I came across a website that had several books on a Father's impact on sports. Thought some of you might be interested.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.menstuff.org/books/byissue/fathersdaughters.html
Parents have a tremendous effect on their children, especially when they are younger. Kids want to do everything their parents do. I know my father was the reason I get started in sports and continue in sports today.
ReplyDeleteBut I do not believe we should give total credit, or no credit, to the parents. Are the Williams sisters successful solely because of their father? How about Tiger Woods? Was Ernie Davis successful because he didn't have a father? While these men may have helped mold and shape them, it wasn't just them. A lot has to do with your total environment; family, friends, school, teachers, etc... One aspect does not make an athlete who they are.
An example of a father having an impact on his son comes from the book I'm reading: Moneyball. In it, it discusses Chad Bradford and his father. His father at one point was told he would never walk again. Well he not only did that, he could work, and play with his sons. He often played catch with Chad and their Chad's love for baseball grew. One point in the book it discusses Chad in a tight situation, how his father had overcome everything to not only walk but to work and play. Chad always thought to himself, "if my father can get past that, how hard can this be."
Parents can have a tremendous impact on our lives. It can be positive, and it can also be negative.
Personally, I was raised in a single parent home with my only male figure being my older brothers and friends in the neighborhood. I highly believe that a kid growing up in a dual parent home may have a slight better chance of becoming successful in life and in sports. However, I know several individuals that have been raised in a single parent home that have a extremely successful athletic career and education. Unfortunately, I know many more that grew up in a single parent home that are still searching for direction from that missing link.
ReplyDeleteIf John Singleton were to re-write Boyz N the Hood with a dual parent home. I am sure that the outcome of the story would be much different.
*******************PLEASE LOOK AT THIS CLIP************************
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yOFsy3BlvtQ
I think as with so many things it about each individual involved....if you have two parents who are not good role models is that better than one parent who is a good role model? Obviously the the 2 parent home has some advantages in giving opportunities to kids participating(money, transportaion, support). Obviously if you have 2 people who are good role models you have a better chance at being successful. Being the devils advocate though I see many 2 parent families who make life too easy and give their children to many things so that when the kid gets out on his own he doesn't have any skills to handle problems on his own. He just looks to his parents to solve his problems because his parents having always done that for him. I do think it is important for kids to have both a male and female role model in their lifes. But I think their needs to be more emphasis put on parental behavior regardless of 1 parent or 2 parent home.
ReplyDeleteLove the youtube clip on Jordan and Woods. I think that Doug has a great point. I would like to think the Dual parent household would have the advantages but I think every situation is different depedning on the the parents involved. I think if it was only my Dad, I am not sure I would have played college athletics because of the pressure he put on me, but maybe my dad's out look on life would have been different without my mom.
ReplyDeleteAgreeing with Stacey here, a duel parent household has it's advantages, but the same holds for a single parent household. Not one is superior in anyway, it all depends on the guidance within the home!
ReplyDelete