Dear Parents,
Your kid is not going to the big leagues. I know I have never seen your kid play, so I am sorry to be so blunt, but it’s the truth. Most likely, your child will not be a professional athlete.
I know this may sound contradictory to what you think or have been told, but please believe me when I say that your kid will not be a professional athlete.
For some reason, if your child does climb the ranks of amateur sports and finds themselves inking a million-dollar deal in the future, congratulations!
Your child DEFINITELY beat the odds.
The Big Leagues by the Numbers
Let’s look at the numbers for a few sports. All statistics are courtesy of the NCAA.
If you want to see your kid taking swings inside Yankee Stadium someday, they have a 2.19% chance if they played college baseball. 7.28% of high school baseball players compete in college.
Being in the top two percent of the best seven percent of baseball players is not easy to do.
If I crushed your dreams, I am sorry because it’s going to get worse.
If you want your son to be like Mike, they have a 0.01% chance of making it to the NBA.
For your child to play college basketball, they were amongst the top 3.41% of high school ballers.
All sports follow this same trajectory, but let’s view one more.
If you think your child will be playing on Sundays before they start on a Friday night, there is an issue. 1.54% of college football players get drafted to play in the NFL.
12.06% of high school football players make it to any level of college football.
I hope I have demonstrated that it’s challenging to make it to college, let alone professional sports. I am not saying it’s impossible, but it’s not probable.
Why am I Crushing Your Dreams?
All parents want their kids to be successful. If you don’t, stop reading this open letter and find an article on what it means to be a parent.
I saw this tweet today from Rodney Knuppel, the Director of Business Development at Knup Solutions. This screenshot that he shared inspired me to write this open letter to parents with big-league dreams who are losing sight of what’s important.
This youth coach is cutting right to the chase, he doesn’t want any average player joining his team, apparently. pic.twitter.com/JNAms0XCqs
— Rodney Knuppel (@KnuppelRodney) June 3, 2021
I played travel baseball for my entire life, and I was a Division I football player. I have seen a lot of sh** go down over my athletic career involving parents. There are a lot of parents that make it about themselves instead of their children.
I am not here to tell you how to parent your children, but youth sports should be about the kids. It’s great for parents to be involved. My dad coached me until I got to high school, and I loved the entire experience.
Were there a lot of nights where I came home crying to my mother? Yes, but I would not have traded the tough times for him being on the field.
However, as a parent, when you lose sight of the purpose of youth sports, that is when you need to catch yourself and stop.
Your child is not going to the league. They have less than a one percent chance of playing professional sports, so why not let the kids enjoy the time they have on the field?
The lessons and experiences that children get at the youth level for sports make the games so special. Those are the things you should focus on instilling as a parent because these lessons go way beyond the gridiron, court, or diamond.
I did not make it to the big leagues, but the lessons I learned on the field have carried me to where I am in my professional career.
When you’re a parent of an athlete, it’s not about YOU. It should never be about YOU. It’s about helping your child have the best experience possible and learning the life lessons that sports teach young athletes.
Therefore, as a parent, I recommend that you enjoy your kids on the field because the time will be over before you know it!
Sincerely,
A kid who didn’t make it to the big leagues
Tanner Kern is a writer for Knup Sports and the Sports 2.0 Network. He is the host of Between the Lines, the official show of Baseball Spotlight, and the main contributor for the website. Connect with Tanner on IG @tannerkern and Twitter @tannerkern_.
