The lede is great:
He is 15 years old, 5-foot-9 and 185 pounds of cartoonish muscles on top of muscles. He had six-pack abs when he was 6. Today, he bench-presses one-and-a-half times his body weight and can leap from a standing position to the top of a car. He averages four touchdowns per game and hasn't lost a wrestling match since 2012, making him the nation's top-ranked football player and wrestler for his grade. And even though he doesn't begin high school for another two weeks, he already is one of the most talked about athletes in New Jersey.
And the story is off and away.
His uncle took Josh and his older brother, Matt, in to help them out because their mother (his sister) had a drug and alcohol problem. I get that. It's a lovely story and demonstrates a kind heart.
That's not the problem I have with the situation.
It's all of the money being spent on the training and coaching and nutritionists and wearing a "Darth Vader" like mask to restrict breathing while training and hanging upside down on a table in search of an elusive three inches so Josh reaches a magical height of six feet.
It leads me to ask the questions:
How much is too much?
When should all-in begin?
I know it's been going on for years, but I don't agree in holding kids back in school for reasons not related to academics. That is the case in this situation, as Josh McKenzie graduated from eighth grade and was enrolled in a different school to repeat the grade.
It's been written about in other places, and it is still a practice I cannot abide by. I don't know if actually allows for a kid to mature mentally by repeating a grade that they successfully passed; it seems self serving at best. I don't feel, as a parent, that it is the best thing for that student to be essentially divorced from their own peer group. Especially when one is a teenager.
The uncle, who is also the legal guardian of the boys, says that he is spending money that was earmarked for a college education on the training for Josh. Doesn't seem like the most prudent use of funds to me.
Then again, I had the same thought reading about some of the money being spent on individual coaching while reading Bruce Feldman's wonderful book THE QB.
Tens of thousands of dollars being spent to turn high school students into (maybe) the best football player possible in order to gain access to scholarship money and maybe a professional career.
Is it really worth it?
An argument that was brought up was that people wouldn't feel this way if it was a tennis player or a golfer, or even a musical prodigy; they are expected to do all sorts of training and go to academies in some cases.
Is it really worth it in those cases, either?
It might seem silly, but I lament the loss of childhood and teenage years in many of these cases.
My own kid is about to turn eight years old. He has shown some aptitude for football (defense in particular, which makes my inner offensive coordinator hurt) and soccer. I couldn't imagine putting him through a rigorous training program and investing thousands of dollars in trying to physically mold him into a world-class athlete.
Now, if he came to me with the idea, we would have to sit down and talk about it and what it would entail. If he's willing to endure the potential pain of sacrificing a lot of freedom and free time (like no dating, as was mentioned in Josh's story—significant others are "distractions") then I guess I would have to find a way to make his dream happen.
If there is no regrets, then I guess there's little harm.
And maybe I shouldn't be lamenting someone else's loss if they don't feel it.
No comments:
Post a Comment