"I'm not a kid anymore, but some days I sit and wish I was a kid again."
Those lyrics are from a song by Travie McCoy lead singer of Gym Class Heroes called "Akidagain."
Sometimes I feel a little nostalgic for the days back when we thought picking your nose was kind of adorable, but in a weird way the age when worries were few and far between. However, after talking to my nine-year-old little brother, I've realized that times have changed and kids have some big things to worry about, particularly when they are playing sports
Now we all know that professional athletes have several concerns to worry about they lose sleep wondering if they'll get hurt playing or if they'll receive enough minutes to achieve the incentives in their contract. But if you think about it, they've already made it big in their respective sports. They've made the money and a somewhat quantifiable amount of fame. Kids, on the other the hand, lie awake worrying if they'll one day "make it" on the biggest stage and if they can impress their biggest fans their parents.
When you played on that YMCA basketball team, you probably saw a couple parents about to start throwing punches at each other during heated moments of a game. The offspring of those parents must have been embarrassed, but remember that parent who would run up and down the court giving commands to his or her child every five seconds? That kid is going to be freaking out of his mind because he won't be able to do everything the parent says, especially when the parent says, "Dunk it!"
Why do parents do this to their kids? Well, it's probably because parents live vicariously through their children. Some fathers can't put on pads and rumble with 21 other dudes on the gridiron anymore. Those "eight knee surgeries I had in my heyday" impede them from playing. So, in order to be able to see their aspirations come true, parents place their own desires on their kids. If a child throws an interception in a Pee-Wee football game, there's a good chance the parent will react the same way he or she would if their house was robbed and then set on fire.
And if having to deal with their parents isn't enough, kids are faced with the new task of following the orders of a person that isn't their parent or teacher. Let's face it coaches aren't often the "nice guys" shown in some movies. Children get to eat a post-game snack, but only after having several possible anxiety attacks during the game. Ask my brother and he'll tell you his most recent basketball coach was a huge tool, yelled like a maniac and sometimes used profanities.
After worrying about playing well for their parents and coaches, kids have to focus on their honor. Do they want to be made fun of because of that fly ball that was dropped in center field? Nope, unless they want to be called "Butterfingers."
When friends who are on opposing teams play against each other, they believe that game is basically the Super Bowl for Game Seven of the NBA Finals. These kids go nuts because they want to out-perform eachother. Just because two kids eat lunch together doesn't mean that elbows won't fly when the referee blows the whistle to signal the beginning of the game.
When my little brother scored 18 points in a basketball game last month, I got as excited as I would have if I had done it myself. The memories of when I thought I was on top of the world because I had made a three-pointer in my best friend's face came back. Those were indeed the glory days. But in some ways, I remembered what it was to have my dad telling me I wasn't playing well. I recalled that basketball coach who yelled, stomped around and threw his hat and water bottle on the floor. I also remembered how much of an idiot I felt like for missing that wide-open layup and how my friends made fun of me for it. Those were tough times.
Professional athletes have expensive contracts and nice cars, big houses and, of course, the bling. And yeah all of that comes with it's share of worries, but they have nothing on kids these day who worry (maybe even more) about their performance even though they don't have several thousands of dollars riding on every game. When you're on StumbleUpon and a YouTube video of seven-year-old breaking through for a game-winning touchdown comes up, remember that when he reaches the end-zone, he'll probably look over to the stands to see his parents giving him a thumbs-up. And someday that parent might be you.
