When we decided to write a piece and conduct a poll on 12U Best Player we expected certain things to happen. In today's media crazed environment where kids are glorified at an early age and parents become jealous of another child and instill jealous and envy into their own child you know it is time to sit down and talk. We've gotten a lot of calls about the article we did. A lot of questions were asked. It is important to highlight several points which we may not have done a great job of communicating. You see we complimented each kid and clearly stated that all four kids have a bright future and each of them is as good as the other yet when you start comparing friends, teammates, classmates and opponents messages can be misconstrued.
I've watched these kids over the last several years and like almost all kids at this age they seem to really like one another and respect each other. A child is not born a racist he/she is taught to be a racist. A child is not born to be jealous, he/she is taught that trait. A child is not born to be envious, he/she is taught that as well.
Parents must better understand that there is no place for jealousy, hatred or envy most especially among 4 kids who really get along.
1. All four of the top players in that age group are friends and get along really well.
2. All four players are really, really talented and each of them has a bright future in their own right.
3. We reached out to all four players via Facebook and text message and told them to get their friends to vote for them. This was suppose to be fun!
4. All four guys play for PR Playmakers and this was an important exercise for them to better understand the media and how a silly poll and article can affect relationships.
5. Jealousy and envy have no place in the game. Parents and coaches have a duty to explain this to kids at an early age or else it will destroy players, teams and their families.
We probably should have discuss this before writing the article but we wanted to stir up a little controversy so to make the point that no matter who finished first, second, third or fourth it should not effect relationships. Relationships with parents, relationships with other teammates and relationships with coaches.
