Monday, October 20, 2008

Parenting Young Athletes: The Ripken Way

Infinity Parents,

May I suggest a book for you to read. Although I am not a big reader, I was in the Atlanta airport after the NJCAA national championships waiting for the teams plane and walked in to a book store. In my previous club in Council Bluffs, Iowa I learned rather quickly how big sports are in this country. We think BYU vs Utah is a rivalry, try anyone vs. Nebraska! The entire state turns red! My point is that emphasis on sports in the mid west leave us in the shadows (this is a good thing). I do not believe that sports should be the end all be all in our lives. Nebraska football was more important than family to many people (they needed a TON of guidance)...get my drift? So I was at this bookstore and saw the title of the book, read the preface and the introduction and bought it. By the time I was back from Atlanta I had nearly finished the book (in itself was an accomplishment). Although I did not agree with everything in this book (mainly because I am soccer minded and not sports driven) I passed it along to a number of parents. Within a month the local newspaper wrote an article based on the book and nearly everyone in our soccer club had read the book. We saw an increase in parents ability to help guide their children as well as saw happier players. This book will answer many of our questions as sports parents. I highly recommend that you spend the $15 to purchase it. I believe it will help us in many ways. Below is a link to an article about the book. The article in the Iowa newspaper is archived so I cant use that one, but I found one that is similar. I hope you will read this book and that you will continue looking for ways to be the best sports parent possible.


The Book - Parenting Young Athletes: The Ripken Way
Barnes and Noble Link

Article Link


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