Raising Athletic Kids

There is nothing more fun than watching your children compete in athletics, especially when they are competitive. Competition in sports is great as long as it is kept in perspective. My kids love to get out there and give 100% at their given sport and I see that carry over into other aspects of their lives as well.

I think it's important, however, to understand the difference between competition in a sporting event and competition in other aspects of life. Things like looks, possessions, jobs and other things that really don't matter in the end. I think that type of competitiveness brings out the ugly in people, sometimes sports bring out the ugly in people too, but usually not as much. I've ran into more than my fair share of over zealous parents..trust me.

I guess my whole point is this. I think it's important to teach our kids the difference between the two types of competition. When Mitch lines up under center to start a play, or Taylor lines up on the track ready to run I fully expect them to be thinking, "I want to win"!

On the other hand I want to teach them that having that same attitude in life sometimes doesn't translate the same. My goal is to help them understand that if they always give their best, work hard and go above and beyond the call of duty...there is no competition. If they walk off the playing field and into life with an attitude of a winner and someone who always does their best in serving others, they will always come out on top. 

If they realize that if they give more than they are getting in return, they will never want for anything. I try to teach this same principle at modeling seminars I do and most people don't get it unfortunately, but I must be honest. This has been the secret of my success. 

I love to win, my kids love to win. It's healthy to love to win as long as we know when to check that attitude and take on one of service and esteeming others more highly than ourselves. 

This article was initially meant to brag about my kids, but somewhere I took a different direction...obviously for a reason so I'm not going to change anything. I've added some photos of my kids on the filed of play. Both are winners. Taylor is on a Championship 4x100 and 4x400 team and Mitch is a stud football player and both are excellent people.