Work ethic...

Sitting in the stands at a game I overheard a dad turn around and say something astute. He was responding to another parent saying "I just want the three weeks to be over with. This is brutal."

The dad said "What do you expect? It ain't going to happen. There were only two girls in the weight room all summer and one of them was mine. I guess if it ain't going to bother her, I ain't going to let it bother me. Of course I don't like it, but I guess she doesn't mind."

He kept going. "The girls have this sense of entitlement that they don't have to work at it to be good and they're wrong. It used to be a sense of pride to play at this school. Now it means nothing."

Then some heifer bitch mom responded. "Well if the coach knew what she was doing we'd be better off."

The dad replied, "No, it's not that. These girls think the coach will do it for them but it's not going to happen."

I about fell out of my seat.

It made me think about where I came from and what athletics are like now. It's not the coaches or the school or even the competition. It's whiny, snot nosed, bratty kids that have no idea what it is or feels like to accomplish something due to a little hard work, commitment and dedication. Kids are like that because their parents taught them to be that way. They've taught them that they don't have to earn anything. If they want it, they get it - period.

I was pretty lucky growing up. I had nice things to drive, money when I needed it and I lacked for nothing. I lived within our means and can guarantee we didn't get anything for free. We were expected to work for everything we got. We wanted to go somewhere, we had to throw a few bales first. When we did something it felt good because we earned it - there is pride associated with that.

Parents don't demand excellence from their kids anymore. It's all about blaming someone else or taking the easy way out to get ahead. Then again, if parents actually acted like parents instead of their kids buddy it might be easier to set examples. At least good examples.