Youth sports like a cult eli.cranor@gmail.com August 1, 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: I wasn’t really into sports but my kid wanted to play, and now she really loves it. Loves all the camaraderie, the friend group. I like seeing her work toward a goal and achieve it. But why does every sport have to be year round? Is there not a way to do sports without dedicating your life to it? If I wanted to be in a cult, I’d join a cult. I don’t want her to be in trouble with her coaches, but my daughter’s extracurricular activity is just one aspect of our family life. It’s like the coaches have to prove their worth by staying as busy as possible. So I guess the question is, how much is it going to hurt my daughter with the coaches when we occasionally miss things because we’re not going to rearrange our lives around this?

— Cultish

Dear Cultish: Fought this tooth and nail during my coaching days. I tried hard to get kids from other sports out for the football team. We needed all the help we could get. In the end, though, I was only able to pull a couple of players over to the gridiron.

I do think there’s been a shift over the last couple decades or so toward young athletes focusing on one sport at a much younger age. That shift has brought on its own set of problems, namely the cult-like mentality you mentioned in your question.

But here’s the deal: your daughter seems to be having a blast. Don’t let your perception of the coaches or the other parents negate the fact that she’s enjoying her chosen sport.

If your daughter is having fun, that’s all that really matters.


Dear Athletic Support: With only a few weeks left before school starts back again, my wife and I are considering taking a short vacation. Nothing crazy. Just maybe an extended weekend trip to the lake. The only problem is my son’s summer football workouts. He’d have to miss at least a day of workouts if we took this trip. With the football season just around the corner, is it worth it?

— Take A Trip

Dear Trip: It’s worth it. Summer workouts are important. Sure. But you only get so many chances to go on vacations with your kids. And in reality, the football season is still a good bit away.

A wise coach one explained to me the importance of rest — both mental and physical — for young athletes. He told me this after I’d explained to him all the work I had my players doing over the summer: team camps, 7 on 7 tournaments, daily workouts, etc.

According to this coach, the key is to have your team peak during the season. Not before it even starts.

If you apply this same philosophy to your son’s upcoming season, then a short weekend trip with the family might be exactly what he needs in order to be rested and ready when the season gets going in earnest.


Previous columns:

• 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