Not enough help with Booster Club eli.cranor@gmail.com November 14, 2021 Eli Cranor is a former professional quarterback and coach turned award-winning author. Please use the “Contact” page at elicranor.com to send in questions for “Athletic Support.”

Dear Athletic Support: My daughter just started playing piano. We’ve had the piano in our house since she was a baby, but now, well into her junior year in high school, she’s just decided to start plinking away at the thing. She’s not taking lessons. She just sits there at the stool and watches YouTube videos then tries to imitate what she hears. She does this for hours! And, honestly, she’s getting pretty good. I don’t mind the noise. It’s just that she’s been playing basketball since she was five. She’s been working toward that goal for so long, and now she’s about to start what could possibly be her second-to-last basketball season, but all she wants to do is play piano? I just don’t get it. If she put half as much time into practicing her dribbling or shooting as she does playing that piano — she’d be the best player on the team! I don’t really know how to talk to her about this without sounding overbearing. Do you have any advice on how I could broach the subject?

— B-ball Mom

Dear B-ball Mom: This one is pretty simple. Never, under any circumstances, try to dictate your child’s interest.

Granted, that’s easier said than done. There have been plenty of sports-loving dads who’ve tried to steer their daughters away from ballet. But if a girl loves to dance — or in your case play the piano — then by all means let the girl play!

Dear Athletic Support: I’ve been volunteering on the Booster Club since my son was old enough for there to even be a Booster Club. I help out all that I can. Honestly, I spread myself pretty thin. We all do. That is, those of us who actually help the Booster Club. And that’s the problem. There are so many parents on my son’s team who don’t help at all. It’d be so nice to just show up to the gym and get to watch the games. Instead, I’m stuck in the concession stand, elbow deep in nacho cheese. What should I do? Should I try and get the other parents involved (I’ve actually already tried this; it’s pretty painful). Or do I just suck it up and keep dishing out popcorn from the concession stand?

— Booster Club Britney

Dear Britney: Booster Clubs are there to serve the kids. That’s it. They’re not a social club or some sort of way to get your kids more playing time or even a way for parents to earn gold stars in the eyes of the coaches.

Booster Clubs boost.

They boost the players by buying them things that are outside of the school’s budget. They boost the school by providing extra services. And, when done right, they should boost the parents as well because there is no bigger honor than being given the chance to serve.

Try and keep that “boost” at the forefront of your mind moving forward, and things will be just fine.


Previous columns:

• Hoping my son quits basketball
• I wish my son practiced less
• When should my son start football?
• No ‘bad faces’ in basketball
• Son wants to join football team midway through season
• Housekeeper can’t make daughter’s game
• Auditions getting in the way of volleyball
• Foul language on the sideline
• Laundry Stinks
• Fit more important than price when it comes to cleats
• Facebook ads and too many practices
• Coach pushing vaccine on players
• Youth sports like a cult
• Coach’s pregame speech too crazy for kids
• Championship rings and multiple sweatbands — too much?
• Working out over the Dead Weeks?
• Summer School Blues
• Practices running late causing problems
• Softball games going past midnight
• Are athletes getting better with age?
• Are team sports a vital part of childhood?
• Summer schedule way too serious
• What if I can’t afford private speed camps?
• Quarterback lacks speed
• Should pro athletes talk politics?
• How to take a hit
• Wrestling in college, what’s the point?
• Removal of mask requirement could cost us games
• Overachieving daughter stinks at sports
• Why are we playing all the small schools?
• Freshmen don’t make varsity, usually
• Kids have changed, haven’t they?
• Esports and disc golf bigger than football?
• Little pitchers have big ears
• Pregame music offensive
• Fouls in girls basketball
• Red Shirting
• Coach makes political post
• 7th grade girls basketball woes
• Multi-million-dollar buyouts don’t make sense
• Private schools have the upper hand
• Best of 2020

Athletic Support Columns 2020


Outside of athletics, kids’ brains are also at risk. Who knows what sort of impact virtual learning will have on their cognition and critical thinking skills. In this regard, I offer one simple tool — a good book! And luckily, I know just the book for kids struggling with the shift to virtual learning:

BOOKS MAKE BRAINZ TASTE BAD! Okay, you caught me… I’m the author of this book. It was published last week and awarded a #1 New Release ranking on Amazon. BMBTB deals directly with the same topic covered in this column, except in a much more lighthearted, kid-friendly way (zombie teachers and brain-munching screens!) If you end up purchasing this book for your children or grandchildren, I only have one final suggestion — ask them to read it while standing up! Eli Cranor's new book Books Make Brainz Taste Bad has just been released. ZOMBIES HATE BOOKS! Especially the zombie teachers at Haven Middle School. That's why they're using VR headsets to fry kids' brainz. Luckily, Dash Storey knows how to save his classmates from the zombie teachers—BOOKS! They make brainz taste bad! "Eli Cranor has an almost unbeatable advantage. He can remember how it felt to think like a twelve-year-old and he can see the very same events like the adult he is. Don't try to resist this book!" - Jack Butler, Pulitzer-Prize nominated author