It is Awful to be Cursed with Talent at a Young Age
I was thinking today of my four favorite Boston athletes: Doug Flutie, Tom Brady, Bill Russell, and Larry Bird. One thing they have deeply in common is that at a young age they WERE NOT considered future greats, and that was much to their betterment as athletes and men later in life.
Doug Flutie was raised in Natick, Mass., a medium sized bedroom community of Boston. No great athletes ever come from places like Natick. It just doesn't happen. Flutie was a really good high school player in the late 70s, but he was lucky to get a full boat from Boston College. I'll bet many recruiters thought it was a waste of a roster spot. Flutie was deep on the depth chart early freshman year, maybe even the last quarterback on the roster, and the Eagles were getting the shit kicked out of them by Penn State (as usual) one afternoon. Coach Bicknell, in a moment of desperation, told the kid to get in the game. He led the team to a touchdown. He started the next week. BC started to play better. But at no point in Flutie's freshman year did anyone say, "Heisman Winner."
Tom Brady went to an elite high school in terms of producing athletes, and was apparently serious about sports from a young age, but at no point in his high school career or his time at Michigan did anyone say, "NFL Starter." Bill Russell was another high schooler lucky and blessed to get a scholarship to attend college. Russell really sucked, actually, at basketball as a prep. Really sucked. But he was tall and a little athletic and the University of San Francisco offered him. Larry Bird was a real good high school player in French Lick, but I'll bet Bobby Knight at Indiana did not think to himself, when he saw Bird play, "This kid's an NBA player." No way.
These guys are all time greats in their sports (well, maybe not Dougie) and New England legends. And that is partially but vitally because they were blessed to not be great in their early teens. I think it is a terrible thing to show talent at something too young, too soon. That is because no 10 year old or 13 year old or even 15 year old should be responsible for putting bread on the table for their parents or anyone else. And that is what's happened with LeBron and Andre Drummond and so many others.
LeBron was a commodity when he was 10. He was used because he was good at playing the game of basketball. That has to warp a human being. It just has to. Think of your own children and nieces and nephews and any other early teen: Can you imagine if you had to sell them out in order to pay rent and the food bill? That is not how a child should be treated. I wonder if LeBron thinks that maybe he'd be better off today if he hadn't been a national figure in his early teens, if MJ hadn't taken an interest in the high school sophomore, if he had been just another player before taking off.
A young person should be forced to say "Please" and "Thank You." They should be required to help with the dishes and take out the trash and mow the lawn and all that crap. Not because it especially needs to be done, but because kids need to learn to respect themselves and others. If they don't learn to respect at a young age they never will (unless they're Andre Agassi). And when young people (and honestly, it seems to be largely young African-Americans, who make up the majority of elite athletes anyway) are treated as stars by their support systems and not asked to do the things young people are supposed to do, it leads to problems down the road. Did LeBron ever have to clean the dishes after his Mom made dinner? I'll bet Bill Russell did a lot of chores back in the day in Oakland.
Doug Flutie was raised in Natick, Mass., a medium sized bedroom community of Boston. No great athletes ever come from places like Natick. It just doesn't happen. Flutie was a really good high school player in the late 70s, but he was lucky to get a full boat from Boston College. I'll bet many recruiters thought it was a waste of a roster spot. Flutie was deep on the depth chart early freshman year, maybe even the last quarterback on the roster, and the Eagles were getting the shit kicked out of them by Penn State (as usual) one afternoon. Coach Bicknell, in a moment of desperation, told the kid to get in the game. He led the team to a touchdown. He started the next week. BC started to play better. But at no point in Flutie's freshman year did anyone say, "Heisman Winner."
Tom Brady went to an elite high school in terms of producing athletes, and was apparently serious about sports from a young age, but at no point in his high school career or his time at Michigan did anyone say, "NFL Starter." Bill Russell was another high schooler lucky and blessed to get a scholarship to attend college. Russell really sucked, actually, at basketball as a prep. Really sucked. But he was tall and a little athletic and the University of San Francisco offered him. Larry Bird was a real good high school player in French Lick, but I'll bet Bobby Knight at Indiana did not think to himself, when he saw Bird play, "This kid's an NBA player." No way.
These guys are all time greats in their sports (well, maybe not Dougie) and New England legends. And that is partially but vitally because they were blessed to not be great in their early teens. I think it is a terrible thing to show talent at something too young, too soon. That is because no 10 year old or 13 year old or even 15 year old should be responsible for putting bread on the table for their parents or anyone else. And that is what's happened with LeBron and Andre Drummond and so many others.
LeBron was a commodity when he was 10. He was used because he was good at playing the game of basketball. That has to warp a human being. It just has to. Think of your own children and nieces and nephews and any other early teen: Can you imagine if you had to sell them out in order to pay rent and the food bill? That is not how a child should be treated. I wonder if LeBron thinks that maybe he'd be better off today if he hadn't been a national figure in his early teens, if MJ hadn't taken an interest in the high school sophomore, if he had been just another player before taking off.
A young person should be forced to say "Please" and "Thank You." They should be required to help with the dishes and take out the trash and mow the lawn and all that crap. Not because it especially needs to be done, but because kids need to learn to respect themselves and others. If they don't learn to respect at a young age they never will (unless they're Andre Agassi). And when young people (and honestly, it seems to be largely young African-Americans, who make up the majority of elite athletes anyway) are treated as stars by their support systems and not asked to do the things young people are supposed to do, it leads to problems down the road. Did LeBron ever have to clean the dishes after his Mom made dinner? I'll bet Bill Russell did a lot of chores back in the day in Oakland.
posted by joe sweeney at 3:59 PM
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