Topics for an Open Forum to add or provide input:
There are some things in life you cannot ‘Do Over’
Helping parents who to no fault of there own may not understand the mindset of a child and the pressure they put on themselves when playing sports. For 13 years of coaching I asked every individual what they wanted to accomplish by the end of the season and 90% of them just wanted to make their parents happy. In my opinion, the mind of a child is too delicate and too precious, all it takes is one word, or one look that can damage them in so many areas they encounter for the rest of there lives it happens that quick.
I may not be a professional expert but being both an athlete that was heavily recruited to play Division 1 College Football, had 11 Major League Baseball tryouts, and the parent of a son getting ready to play in the Ontario Hockey League, qualifies me more as a "subject matter expert".
I lived up to my promise to never treat my kids the way my father treated me. My father, who was abusive mentally and physically, also lived vicariously through me when it came to sports. What I wasn't prepared for was when my son was labeled too risky to draft as a prospect due to numerous concussions, he became depressed. He began to self medicate to deal with the depression of not playing any longer, deal with the migraines from his concussions and eventually passing away from a drug overdose. Losing him led to my own drug addiction and then the breakup of my family.
So many families suffer from a story like mine. I am hoping that my story can help make a difference in someone else's life.