That's Entertainment

NBC Channel 5 in Chicago did a sports’ feature last night on a 13-year old figure skater who wants to go to the Olympics, not 2018 but the 2022 Games in Beijing.  The whole thrust of the story was that here’s a kid with drive.

Thanks to TiVo, I was able to pause it to get a pen and paper and take notes.  The girl is being schooled on-line, whatever that means, so she can practice six days a week three hours at a time; she also has off-ice practice sessions three days a week.  Does she have the time or inclination to learn where Beijing is?

Every parent of an aspiring artist or athlete has to decide how best to balance their kid’s interest with the other things in life.  Ultimately, the question of how far do you go encouraging a youthful passion has to be raised and answered.  For us with Clare, the answer was “pretty far,” but never to the point that softball trumped school.

I pitched batting practice until my elbow popped (and kept going for close to ten years more); hit grounder after grounder to my little infielder, then fly ball after fly ball to my bigger outfielder; drove her to practice; warmed her up; found money for outrageously expensive bats and other equipment; and served as all-around confessor and coach.  Michele had her own set of responsibilities, each one equal to what I did or more.  But through it all, Clare had to have her homework done and see that school offered an education, without which there can’t be a future.

On-line classes?  No, thanks.  Exposure to the arts and sciences?  Of course.  We wanted a daughter with good power numbers and an even better ACT score.  Maybe the family of that Olympic hopeful feels the same way.  Maybe that part of the story got cut.  Maybe.