How much should parents be involved with their son and his Long Snapping career is a very touchy issue and I am going to tread lightly. A lot of it depends on the relationship between the kid and the parent. If you are laughing right now as a parent or the Long Snapper and asking, “What relationship?” let me reassure you of this….
For the Long Snappers – your parents actually were teenagers at one point in their life. They actually have gone through some of the same things you have encountered. True, it may not have been Long Snapping, but other situations can correlate to give them a very similar experience. Your parent(s) just want to be treated with respect and like an adult.
For the Parents – your kid(s) will get through this. It/They can be trying, but it is what it is. Like I always say, you have one teenager and I have hundreds. I see a a lot of teenagers per year. I see them all over the country and they are all pretty similar. Your kid(s) just want to be treated with respect and like an adult.
As for how a parent should handle the issue of dealing with college coaches, here is the best way to think about it so you can relate…..
When you were dating your future husband/wife, did you want to go out with their parents or with them?
You wanted to go out with your date and not their parents. Same with the coaches. They want to deal with the Long Snapper and not you. Sure you can assist (similar to a parent giving their kid a couple bucks for a date or advising them of a solid restaurant to go to) but let the Long Snapper take the lead. They speak to coaches, not you. The coach will be with the kid for the next four years and need to see their personality and not yours. Trust me when I tell you, an overbearing parent can crush a young man’s chances with a school.
Hope this helps.
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Chris, this post should be required reading for every high school junior/senior and his/her parents who are thinking about entering any program at the JC,NAIA, or NCAA level.
Heck, it doesn’t even need to be athletics. Could be a special music, dance, science, business, whatever program.
The point is that these kids are at that difficult time in their personal development when they need to start to strike out on their own. Create their own identity. Start building their own capacity to stand alone and take on the world.
Parents who shelter these young adults, who become the buffer between the “other” adults and their children in an effort to protect their kids from the great big challenging world are, in fact, doing their kids no favors at all.
I spent 15 years working in NCAA D1 athletics and I was increasingly appalled at the level of “involvement” that parents were taking on. Helping kids stand in line to register for classes or pay their fees or buy their books, find an apartment, communicate on their child’s behalf with coaches, administrators, and professors.
They like to feel like they are helpful and involved, just like they were when the child was 11 years old and it was appropriate.
Now, it’s time to cut the apron strings. Let your youngster go out into the semi-controlled world of college and fail or succeed on their own efforts and actions. It will only help them in the long run.
Continuing to “ride shotgun” for your young adults when they should be picking up the reigns and learning to fend for themselves only serves to retard their growth as they seek to become self-sufficient and self-aware adults.
Coach Rubio
This is sound advice indeed. I, myself am guilty of “The Parent Trap” When my older son went through the recruiting process back in 2005-2007, I had my nose to deeply in the middle of things and I didnt help my sons cause. In the end, after some struggles, he ended up just fine and played some college ball and is now coaching high school football and working towards his degree. I would have served him better by letting him handle things himself. My youngest is now 14 years old and getting involved with Coach Rubio and I have learned my lesson. (I hope)
My son has learned alot already from the blogs in the short time he has been following them. Not only that, but my wife and I have learned a thing or two as well
thanks Caoch
Dave