Below average high school football player gets no scholarship offers

[bluestateguy]

My parents live next door to this family who has this kid who played high school football this year and last year.

He is somewhere between average and below average, yet he was convinced that he'd get a scholarship offer from a Division I school. I think he is a little dim upstairs if you know what I mean. His coach gently tried to tell him that even a Div. II scholarship was a longshot, but the boy seemed clueless to this reality. His junior year season was very mediocre. His senior year season was actually a little less than mediocre. But his fantasy persisted.

Now he is shocked, SHOCKED that he didn't get any offers from anybody at all.

One community college coach said he was welcome to try out in the fall, but no scholarship.

[denbot]

1. That's kind of odd because by junior high ya know who's a real athlete

And who is with the rest of us mortals.

[Yavin4]

2. Sounds Like A Teabagger in the Making

Grand dreams and schemes with no basis in reality. Then, grows bitter and blames others as he ages.

[backwoodsbob]

4. we went through this not too many years ago at my old school

Team was awesome because they had the now New York Giant Ammad Bradshaw.Receiver on the team was CONVINCED he was the reason they were so good.Never mind the 2,200 yards and like 35 td's Bradshaw had his senior year..this receiver was the reason and his parents were shocked when he didn't get offers from places like alabama and usc

[alphafemale]

3. Americans will always be Number One in self-regard.

Earned or not.

[virgogal]

5. Mr Rogers told us we were special.

[bluestateguy]

6. It's the self-esteem crap from the 1980's and 1990's

At a certain point we overdid it with the self-esteem stuff and it became narcissism.

[tigereye]

8. I think you can have good self-esteem and still have

realistic expectations about life... :D

[Odin2005]

11. Yup, have to give everyone a medal, wouldn't want to hurt their egos!

:crazy:

[Brickbat]

7. That's sad. I hope he has other prospects.

[petronius]

9. Did you post a couple of months ago about expecting this, and wondering how to respond?

Hope you've got your polite and non-committal condolences all worked out.

It's too bad for the kid, but if you don't even listen to the coach you've pretty much done it to yourself...

[Odin2005]

10. This is what happens when parents inflate their kids' egos.

[rurallib]

12. I have run across some parents who fill their kid's head with

all sorts of crap about how good they are, how the team would fall apart without them, badgering the coach, calling colleges telling them that their kid is a real find etc.etc.

Now I would like to tell you how these situations have turned out, but I usually distance myself as quickly as I can from people like that.
With all the jock sniffers out there, if a kid has talent at all they are singled out way early in HS. Occasional late bloomers, but that seems to be the exception.

Good grief, ESPN does all sorts of programs on HS athletes and games.
Frankly sports are such an over the top deal these days, I have pretty much quit watching.
And I think these obnoxious parents are just looking to score big off their kid so they don't have to work anymore.