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"people will have been outside of the "real world"" This. I met a woman who was a nurse practitioner or something like that. She had a young boy and girl. H

"people will have been outside of the "real world"" This. I met a woman who was a nurse practitioner or something like that. She had a young boy and girl. Her plan was for them to be a pro football player and actress. So she would take them out of school to go to football or acting camp. She actively discouraged them from focusing on school. If these kids are successful, they will be lacking basic skills we take for granted. Think about the average person's understanding of math, and imagine someone actively discouraged from learning it. It could be tragic if they were successful, which is such an unreal thing to say. Even worse, the odds aren't good, and they don't have skills to fall back on.

FireBeyond 8y ago
> Her plan was for them to be a pro football player The NBA has been trying to do a better job about educating people on the reality of professional sports. A lot (the vast majority) of people overestimate children / youth skill, especially parents. The NBA has been big on trying to encourage players even beginning to start college ball as taking college seriously, and by more than just empty words. Saying things like "There are 350+ NCAA basketball teams, each with a roster of up to 13 players. There are two draft rounds, 60 players. Even adjusting for four years of college players, there is less than a 3% chance you will be drafted to the NBA, even if you play college ball". There is even at high levels, a huge disparity of quality and talent. When I grew up in Australia, before refereeing basketball at a very high level, I was involved in cricket. I remember a promo event, where two international cricketers from India visited a local club. They faced off against the kids, and just hit balls around the field gently for them to run and get. Then they faced off against the state team. Every single ball was hit out of the park, without a hint of exaggeration. Some with a bounce or two, but every single one hit the fence. Fast, slow, good, bad, it didn't matter. It was just effortless. I think that did a lot to dawn on people who thought "My kid/adult son is playing at the state level, he could be like these guys one day". Maybe. But most likely not. So I do like that there is some (though not enough) effort at saying "Hey, you need a fallback, because you almost certainly will need it". Even earlier than college, if needed.

FireBeyond 8y ago

> Her plan was for them to be a pro football player The NBA has been trying to do a better job about educating people on the reality of professional sports. A lot (the vast majority) of people overestimate children / youth skill, especially parents. The NBA has been big on trying to encourage players even beginning to start college ball as taking college seriously, and by more than just empty words. Saying things like "There are 350+ NCAA basketball teams, each with a roster of up to 13 players. There are two draft rounds, 60 players. Even adjusting for four years of college players, there is less than a 3% chance you will be drafted to the NBA, even if you play college ball". There is even at high levels, a huge disparity of quality and talent. When I grew up in Australia, before refereeing basketball at a very high level, I was involved in cricket. I remember a promo event, where two international cricketers from India visited a local club. They faced off against the kids, and just hit balls around the field gently for them to run and get. Then they faced off against the state team. Every single ball was hit out of the park, without a hint of exaggeration. Some with a bounce or two, but every single one hit the fence. Fast, slow, good, bad, it didn't matter. It was just effortless. I think that did a lot to dawn on people who thought "My kid/adult son is playing at the state level, he could be like these guys one day". Maybe. But most likely not. So I do like that there is some (though not enough) effort at saying "Hey, you need a fallback, because you almost certainly will need it". Even earlier than college, if needed.