I signed my 1st grader up for flag football this year. He's expressed interest in the game, is very social, and loves to run around (he's done t-ball/coach pitch baseball and soccer as well).
We signed him up with 3 buddies from his school, and we got randomly assigned to a coach and some other kids. The coach runs downright impressive practices. There is no horsing around, and everything is exceptionally crisp for this age (not sure if this is a good thing or not).
Anyway, we had practice last Thursday night with our opening game on Saturday. He pulled the parents in and said, "I can guarantee that every kid will get in the game, but we are playing to win." You could have almost heard a pin drop, and then everybody dispersed.
Fast-forward to Saturday:
By taking this "win at all costs" approach, I don't believe he is doing anything to further any kid's football career (will all come down to their God-given talent, what happens after they hit puberty, work ethic, etc.), but he might be destroying kids' interest in the game.
I'm not overly concerned about it for my son (he's somewhere in the middle in terms of ability and got plenty of playing time), but I think this could be a really ugly experience overall.
Am I seeing this properly?
We signed him up with 3 buddies from his school, and we got randomly assigned to a coach and some other kids. The coach runs downright impressive practices. There is no horsing around, and everything is exceptionally crisp for this age (not sure if this is a good thing or not).
Anyway, we had practice last Thursday night with our opening game on Saturday. He pulled the parents in and said, "I can guarantee that every kid will get in the game, but we are playing to win." You could have almost heard a pin drop, and then everybody dispersed.
Fast-forward to Saturday:
- Only 3 kids touch the ball (my son got a mop-up score as their team was up by 4 TD's)
- 3 kids got zero offensive snaps
- 1 kid exclusively played center/snapper
- Coach got irate when the other team scored their lone TD as they did not "set the edge for outside contain"
By taking this "win at all costs" approach, I don't believe he is doing anything to further any kid's football career (will all come down to their God-given talent, what happens after they hit puberty, work ethic, etc.), but he might be destroying kids' interest in the game.
I'm not overly concerned about it for my son (he's somewhere in the middle in terms of ability and got plenty of playing time), but I think this could be a really ugly experience overall.
Am I seeing this properly?