Too much of a good thing

My favorite food is chicken.  I like it baked, broiled, fried, and grilled.  You can put chicken in my burrito, lo mein, or you can honey-glaze it with a side of orzo pasta.  Cheap or expensive doesn't matter either.  I can do chicken gorgonzola from Carmine's or chicken tenders from Trader Joe's.  There are, however, limits to my love of yard bird.  When I was about 10, my mom found a great deal at the local meat market - 25 lbs. of chicken for $25.  I thought I'd died and gone to heaven.  We had chicken for almost every meal, every day for about two months.  I was the only one living at home by then and Mom didn't weigh 110 lbs. soaking wet.  So, it took a long time to get through all that chicken.

It was cool at first.  Mom was a great cook and I'm a great eater. Chicken and dumplings, stuffed chicken and peppers, chicken and waffles, chicken fried rice - OMG!  It came to a head about a month in.  I was getting tired of chicken and Mom was getting tired of cooking it.  The 25 lbs. of chicken were mostly whole chickens.  That meant a lot of cutting and prep work.  Her hands were hurting and she was tired.  She kept cooking because she bought it and I kept eating because she cooked it.  In the end, we were both miserable.  A similar situation may be going on with you, your child, and his/her favorite sport.

Year-round wrestling sounded like a good idea at first.  Johnny will get all this mat experience and be that much better during the regular season.  Now Johnny's neck hurts because he's been in too many half-nelsons.  His shoulder hurts after having to escape too many chicken wings.  You're tired of driving back and forth to practice.  You also have a practice mat in the basement and installed a pull-up bar.  The club already cashed that huge check you wrote.  Now, you both have to see it through and you're both miserable. 

Too much of a good thing is neither healthy nor productive.  Kids need a break from their favorite activity to avoid burnout.  Keep them active - just change their activity.  Football players could participate in track and field in the spring.  They'll stay in shape but won't get beat up from all the contact.  Basketball players might do well with swimming.  It will keep them loose and give their knees and ankles a break.  Think of other ways you can help your kid enjoy sports more.  One thing you can do is join us for the St. Louis Sportsmanship Summit this Saturday, Jan. 22 at Maryville University.  We will have specific information on how you can help keep the fun in sports for your child.  The event will begin at 8:30 a.m. with a free autograph session from former Rams great Aeneas Williams.  Breakfast will also be provided.  Remember, the event is free, but registration is required.  To RSVP, please click the following link for the St. Louis Sportsmanship Summit or call 314.345.5130.  Until next time...

Be a Good Sport!

-Sol