I have some questions for you.

Was your child physically gifted at a young age? When could you tell they were special at their sport?

I ask because my oldest is 9 years old and has been a standout on any sports field/court ever since he started playing. Doesn’t matter what sport, he just picks it up quickly and is head and shoulders better than anyone his age.

He loves basketball and practices everyday. I coach his AAU team and he was easily the best player of any team we played in our area for his grade. He is big and strong for his age and I’m constantly surprised by how quickly he learns things. He had a goofy shot in basketball so after the season I decided to break down his form and get him shooting right. I thought it would frustrate him as he was not going to make any shots for a while but after a few days of practicing his new form he is shooting perfect and making shots. Now he is making three pointers in games at a pretty decent percentage and shooting with proper form. I was blown away.

Lately he has been obsessed with people who play in college. We’ve talked about it and I’ve explained that it is very very difficult to get good enough to be able to play after high school. I try to not make it sound like it would be impossible for him but I stress how much time and practice it would take. He is incredibly self-motivated and will spend at least 20-30 mins a day dribbling and shooting without us even asking.

How much did you push your kids when they were younger? In my case it’s not so much pushing him but more giving him every opportunity to play whenever he can. I don’t want to become one of those parents but it’s clear he loves it and wants to play as much as possible. At what age did you encourage them focus on one sport and cut out some of the others that take up more of their time? Just overall interested in what your experience was as a parent and what you did well and what you may have done differently.

Also I apologize about the extremely long humble brag of a post.