Dear Parents of all Athletes,

STOP.

Stop telling your kid that they're the best. News flash, they aren't.

I know, I know. Your little Susie is perfection! No one on that team shoots better, hits better, pitches better, tackles better, catches better, or blocks better, than your baby! But come on, do you really believe that?

You are hurting your kid as an athlete. You are keeping them from reaching their full potential. You are creating, dare I say it, an uncoachable child. Do you really want to be that parent?

"But my child IS the best and I'm going to tell them so."

Okay...but why? Lets look at this from a different perspective. You sign your little Tommy up for his very first season of big boy baseball. His excitement is almost uncontrollable. You can't wait to watch your little superstar shine on that field. And then it happens, you look to the outfield and little Tommy is chasing the cricket that jumped over his cleats. Then it sinks in, your child, is clearly not a ballplayer. I mean, not yet at least. But he had fun and can't wait to play again.

That car ride home, do you tell him that he is just awful? That he needs to stop because he just isn't cut out for this sport? Do you look at the precious child of yours and say such mean things? Of course not! I mean, I certainly hope not. You tell him you're so proud of him and can't wait to see how he does the rest of the season, that he will only get better.

And just like that, the drive is there. The desire to learn, to improve, to be better, is there.

"Whats wrong with telling my child they're the best?"

I'm glad you asked. Your child, that you constantly tell is so perfect, that their team would fall apart without them, is learning nothing. They have nothing to strive for, nothing to work for, no desire to be better. Their attitude toward their teammates, sucks. Their attitudes with their coaches, sucks. Why would they listen to a coach trying to help them if they're the best? I mean, you can't improve upon perfection, right?

WRONG!

Coaches like beasts, not monsters. You're just creating a monster. Beasts are the ones that train hard to improve themselves and always give 100% on that field. Monsters are the ones that go through a practice without learning anything and just make it through games. Ask any coach, at any level, what they'd prefer, a team full of good players that work hard and work together, or a team with a superstar that has nowhere to go and a crappy attitude. Nine out of ten will choose the first. That's the team they can work with. That's the team they love to coach.

So yes, support your kid. Tell them when they do great. Tell them they are good. Tell them you're proud of them. You have every right to believe your kid is the best, and in some cases, maybe they are, but they don't need to know that. A team is just that, a team. No one player makes a team, but the attitude of one player can break a team. Don't raise that kid. Remember, uncoachable kids, become unemployable adults. So raise the kid that works hard, inspires others, and is always looking to improve. Those are the kids that will be great players one day. Those are the ones that will make a difference.

As a player, my mother instilled in me and my sisters this simple phrase to live by. "There is always someone better."

Let me repeat that:

THERE IS ALWAYS SOMEONE BETTER.

And that is why you work.

More kids need to hear this. You'll see the difference, I promise.

Sincerely,

Me.