Finally

I know it and I am sorry.
My loyal fans (20 or so) have had to wait over a month for me to get off my butt and write a simple blog.
Forgive me I will try to not let it happen again.
It's not that I didn't think about it at least once a week, but it was just that I could not think of anything to put on paper.
But now, today, I am going to muster up all of my inner feelings and try to get something done.
But don't expect it to entertain you, or then again it might.
But really, look at this as sort of a rant than a blog.
One thing I have been noticing from my friends on facebook (and I enjoy most of it) is the fact that something different is going on with their kids who play sports. Now I know that everyone who is anyone these days that is at least 7 years old must be playing a summer sport. Lets just see how many of them I can get off of my facebook page.
Travel Baseball
AAU basketball
Club Soccer
Club Swimming
Travel Volleyball
Off season football workouts
Math Team
History Team
Robotics Summer work
Summer Etiquette training
Golf Tournaments
Tennis Tournaments
Travel Softball
Summer eating championships


All of these are accurate and I am sure I have missed some.
And these don't start when you become a teenager, these start at six years old.
ALL SUMMER LONG.
Now I was a pretty good athlete a long time ago, and my baseball season ended with all-stars and that was that. After that was over it was time to be a kid. I mean we still played baseball and tons of basketball and spent the day on bikes and things like that. You remember bikes don't you? Well I am not sure kids do today. Outside exercise has been replaced by xbox and play stations. "Mommm I cant go outside today because it's hot and I have travel ball practice for four hours tonight." Ohh ok. I get it.
Actually I don't get it at all.
I know it's a different time now and specializing in one sport is seen as the way to go. But I strongly disagree, not that anyone cares. Let the kids have fun. Teach them how to ride a bike (do they do that anymore ) and get them outside. Let them play a sport in the summer, but lay off the summer long sports activities and give their bodies a break. Unless you have stock in Tommy John surgeries it will do everyone good.
Ok one more rant.
I got my first ring at age 24 when I got married. I got my second ring at age 25 when I lost my first ring. That's another story. My last ring came when I was in my 30's and a softball team I was on won a National Championship, which back then was pretty cool.
But lets think about that national championship. I think they're were probably 35 or so teams in this tournament and you had to qualify to be in it, but I don't recall any teams from Japan or China or even California in it. So maybe it wasn't a real national championship.
Some of my proudest moments as a parent were my sons national championships while swimming in college. He got an individual national champion ring as a junior and the next year he won a team national championship and got another ring.
So why now are kids 6 years old getting rings for winning some crazy titles world or national championship that no one even knows about ?
I think rings have replaced trophies and somehow nobody told the parents they were paying for the damn rings too. I had closets full of trophies and I didn't realize til late my mom and dad bought those damn trophies. So if a kid is getting rings at 6 years old, what will they get when they win something important later in life ?
I am thinking a car maybe.
Have a great week people.