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or rather my son to deserve this bad luck....

 

- Things are going great

- Even though his grades were crap his coaches were willing to step forward and help him to make sure he was playing football past his senior year

- Starting positions both ways......a team captain

- Getting ready to compete against some of the best talent in Southern Califoria at the Max Preps All America combine......100 players coming from all over the west coast by invitation only

 

 

So he is getting ready for the final passing tournament of the season then 3 weeks of offtime before the start of training camp. He is warming up and goes up for a pass that is thrown too high comes down BAM

 

Blows out his knee.......

 

We are hoping it isn't his ACL but we have already been to the free clinic and the doc said it was.....if this is true he is out for his senior season we are going for a second opinion tomorrow and trying to get an MRI as soon as possible.

 

This in essence might finish things for him.......

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Sorry about your kid's injury but those two lines I left in your post says an awful lot about what's wrong today. Priorities are all !@#$ed up.

 

yeah, I have to agree here.

 

John - you have been beating the football drum for years with this kid. What happens when he isn't good enough like everyone else and he's dumb as box of !@#$ing rocks? Are you going to pat him on the back when he gets his 1st pool digging job?

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yeah, I have to agree here.

 

John - you have been beating the football drum for years with this kid. What happens when he isn't good enough like everyone else and he's dumb as box of !@#$ing rocks? Are you going to pat him on the back when he gets his 1st pool digging job?

He could play for the Bills, they like drafting injured players.

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Welcome to the world of the athlete. Never know when that knee is going to go. Blew mine up during walkon tryouts at WVU for baseball. Cost me the chance to play in Italy's pro league.

 

Don't sweat it too much, even if he loses his senior season, he can still progress on the field and off the field. On the field, well, on the sidelines actually, get him to be his coaches shadow and have him watch everything he can. Seeing things from a different perspective is very helpful to an athlete's progression, plus as a team captain he still needs to be a leader for his team.

 

Off the field, he'll have more time to work on those grades and prepare for college. Remember, colleges won't think twice to boot a player for grades so sooner or later he's going to have to get those grades up. Might as well start now.

 

Also, make sure he doesn't try to rush his way back onto the field. He's still young and he'll mend a lot better than a college or pro athlete will, but he's got to stick to rehabbing properly for that to happen.

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or rather my son to deserve this bad luck....

 

- Things are going great

- Even though his grades were crap his coaches were willing to step forward and help him to make sure he was playing football past his senior year

- Starting positions both ways......a team captain

- Getting ready to compete against some of the best talent in Southern Califoria at the Max Preps All America combine......100 players coming from all over the west coast by invitation only

 

 

So he is getting ready for the final passing tournament of the season then 3 weeks of offtime before the start of training camp. He is warming up and goes up for a pass that is thrown too high comes down BAM

 

Blows out his knee.......

 

We are hoping it isn't his ACL but we have already been to the free clinic and the doc said it was.....if this is true he is out for his senior season we are going for a second opinion tomorrow and trying to get an MRI as soon as possible.

 

This in essence might finish things for him.......

 

Sorry to hear about your son's injury...I hope he recovers quickly and that this doesn't lead to long term knee troubles.

 

Let me advise you as somebody who is only a couple of years older than your son. At this age, he's probably looking for a direction and his hobby (football) is his passion. Based on this post and a couple of earlier ones, it sounds like he's very good but not the type of transcendent talent that could play professionally one day. Therefore, he NEEDS other options. Maybe he's a great writer and just hasn't realized it. Maybe he's a latent organic chemistry whiz. If he hasn't been focusing on his studies, then now would be the perfect time to start since he's laid up.

 

To say "This in essence might finish things for him" isn't the correct outlook. His football career might be on hiatus, but that doesn't mean he's "finished". As they say, when one door closes another one opens. If his knee is blown out, his knee is blown out. That's already in the past. Look toward the future. Don't dwell on the implications of the injury.

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or rather my son to deserve this bad luck....

 

- Things are going great

- Even though his grades were crap his coaches were willing to step forward and help him to make sure he was playing football past his senior year

- Starting positions both ways......a team captain

- Getting ready to compete against some of the best talent in Southern Califoria at the Max Preps All America combine......100 players coming from all over the west coast by invitation only

 

 

So he is getting ready for the final passing tournament of the season then 3 weeks of offtime before the start of training camp. He is warming up and goes up for a pass that is thrown too high comes down BAM

 

Blows out his knee.......

 

We are hoping it isn't his ACL but we have already been to the free clinic and the doc said it was.....if this is true he is out for his senior season we are going for a second opinion tomorrow and trying to get an MRI as soon as possible.

 

This in essence might finish things for him.......

 

This is why having good grades is a must for football players. Your son probably has a better chance of getting struck by lighting than making a living playing pro-football.

 

With all due respect John, I like you a lot but, you need to re-read the title of this thread.

 

I would just like to know

WTH I did or didn't do to deserve this bad luck

 

This is about your son John, not you. IMO, you sound like a Hollywood parent who is trying to live vicariously through their child. Right now isn't the time to get upset about this, as I said his chances of playing pro-ball are slim to none. IMO, grades should have been the #1 priority for you to encourage for your son. Football should have been second. The kid needs a career that will carry him if he doesn't make it at football. Sorry if I'm pissing you off it's just my opinion.

 

Help him get his grades up and look for something that might be on the peripheral of sports. If he can get his grades up he might be able to go to Syracuse's Newhouse School of Public Communications.

 

Some notable alumni include:

 

* Contessa Brewer, journalist for MSNBC

* Bob Costas, Sportscaster of NBC and HBO Sports

* Bob Berenson, former Vice Chairman and General Manager of Grey Global Group

* Barry Baker, Management Director/Venture Partner, Boston Ventures

* Fred Dressler, former Executive Vice President of Time Warner Cable

* Susan Feeney, Managing Editor, NPR’s “Morning Edition”

* Eric D. Frankel, President, Warner Bros. Domestic Cable Distribution

* Alan Frank, President, Post-Newsweek Stations

* Ruth Fremson, Photographer for The New York Times

* Brian Frons, President of ABC Daytime

* Ed Goren, President of Fox Sports

* Steve Grasse, Executive Creative Director/Partner, Gyro Worldwide Inc.

* Maureen Grise, Photo Editor, Sports Illustrated

* Phil Gurin, Producer, “The Weakest Link”

* Robert Halmi Jr., President and CEO, Rob Halmi Entertainment

* Deborah Henretta, President-Asian Markets, Procter & Gamble

* Richard Kirshenbaum, Chairman/Executive Creative Director, Kirshenbaum Bond & Partners

* Larry Kramer, Former President, CBS Digital Media and Founder, Marketwatch.com

* Steve Kroft, Correspondent, “60 Minutes” (CBS)

* Steven Leeds, Executive Vice President for Talent Relations, Sirius Satellite Radio

* Robert Light, Partner, Creative Artists Agency

* Arthur Liu, President and CEO, Multicultural Broadcasting Inc.

* Jennifer Ludden, NPR Foreign Correspondent

* Ann McGrath, Senior Editor, U.S. News & World Report

* Joe McNally, Photographer

* Jim Morris, President, Lucas Film Inc.

* Eric Mower, CEO and Chairman, Eric Mower and Associates

* Beth Mowins, Sportscaster, ESPN

* Jack Myers, Chief Economist and CEO, Myers Reports Inc.

* Michael Perlis, Partner, SOFTBANK Capital Partners

* Fred Silverman, President, The Fred Silverman Company

* John Sykes, President, MTV Network Development

* Dick Stockton, Sportscaster for Fox and Turner Sports

* Mike Terpin, President, InternetWire

* Mark Tinker, Emmy Award winning television director of “NYPD Blue” and “Deadwood”

* Mike Tirico, Sportscaster, ABC and ESPN

* Robin Toner, Front Page Political Correspondent, The New York Times

* Nick Trigony, President, Cox Broadcasting (retired)

* Joyce Tudryne, President, IRTS Foundation

* Barry Vetere, Founding Partner, Messner, Vetere, Berger, McNamee & Schmetterer Inc.

* Steve Bunin, Sportscaster, ESPN

* Jack Cognetta, Time Warner Sports Reporter & General Baller,

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You guys should know I did everything I could to get him to do right by his grades this past year short of pulling from football and sports altogether........I monitored them weekly......tried to get him tutors.......tried to work with his teachers......

 

If not pulling him from sports made me a bad parent......then I guess I just am.

 

I dont exactly know what happened....he went from a 3.0 average student in his freshman and sophmore years to what happened last year........

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You guys should know I did everything I could to get him to do right by his grades this past year short of pulling from football and sports altogether........I monitored them weekly......tried to get him tutors.......tried to work with his teachers......

 

If not pulling him from sports made me a bad parent......then I guess I just am.

 

I dont exactly know what happened....he went from a 3.0 average student in his freshman and sophmore years to what happened last year........

 

I don't think anything anybody is trying to call you a bad parent. It's just that the tone of your post made it seem like you thought his life was over because his football career is currently sidetracked. I understand your frustration at the injury, but football isn't everything.

 

As for his GPA, maybe monitoring things isn't good enough. In high school, I was pretty lazy but I knew that swift punishment was headed my way if I wasn't pulling something over a 3.8 on a quarterly basis. Perhaps there's a deeper problem, but I think you'd be surprised how motivated he becomes academically if there are TV or phone privileges at risk.

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I don't think anything anybody is trying to call you a bad parent. It's just that the tone of your post made it seem like you thought his life was over because his football career is currently sidetracked. I understand your frustration at the injury, but football isn't everything.

 

As for his GPA, maybe monitoring things isn't good enough. In high school, I was pretty lazy but I knew that swift punishment was headed my way if I wasn't pulling something over a 3.8 on a quarterly basis. Perhaps there's a deeper problem, but I think you'd be surprised how motivated he becomes academically if there are TV or phone privileges at risk.

 

Swift punishment was coming your way if you did not pull over a 3.8 GPA? That is pretty high standards to hold a kid to. Who was your dad, Hitler?

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You are not experiencing bad luck, your son is experiencing life.

 

Sometimes crap happens and you gotta deal with it.

 

Lay off the emphasis on FOOTBALL.

 

Explain to him that this injury is the very reason why his grades are important.

 

Live with your kids not through them.

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Sorry to hear it John, but this might end up being a blessing in disguise.

 

This in essence might finish things for him.......

 

 

The sooner you and your son realize that his life will be much, much, much longer than his football career (regardless of any injury), the better off he will be. Time to let him grow up and start thinking about what he would like to do with the rest of his life.

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Swift punishment was coming your way if you did not pull over a 3.8 GPA? That is pretty high standards to hold a kid to. Who was your dad, Hitler?

 

Well my plan was for me to get into Yale, so the standards had to be high. I was accepted, but I ended up at Cornell. I've learned to appreciate the tough standards I was held to. When you get the ball rolling with a successful high school career, it opens doors, and my parents knew what I was capable of.

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Sorry to hear it John, but this might end up being a blessing in disguise.

 

 

 

 

The sooner you and your son realize that his life will be much, much, much longer than his football career (regardless of any injury), the better off he will be. Time to let him grow up and start thinking about what he would like to do with the rest of his life.

 

I was going to post this, but looks like the early bird beat me to it.

 

Sometimes a setback like this can turn him around. The key for you is not to try to dwell on this as catastrophic, but as an opportunity. Don't patronize him, as it may backfire. Just nudge him to the right path, and he'll find his own way. Maybe now the girlfriend will also disapear.

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Swift punishment was coming your way if you did not pull over a 3.8 GPA? That is pretty high standards to hold a kid to. Who was your dad, Hitler?

 

If that's the case, you may as well round up every Asian & Indian parent and call them Hitler.

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Sorry to hear about your son's injury...I hope he recovers quickly and that this doesn't lead to long term knee troubles.

 

Let me advise you as somebody who is only a couple of years older than your son. At this age, he's probably looking for a direction and his hobby (football) is his passion. Based on this post and a couple of earlier ones, it sounds like he's very good but not the type of transcendent talent that could play professionally one day. Therefore, he NEEDS other options. Maybe he's a great writer and just hasn't realized it. Maybe he's a latent organic chemistry whiz. If he hasn't been focusing on his studies, then now would be the perfect time to start since he's laid up.

 

To say "This in essence might finish things for him" isn't the correct outlook. His football career might be on hiatus, but that doesn't mean he's "finished". As they say, when one door closes another one opens. If his knee is blown out, his knee is blown out. That's already in the past. Look toward the future. Don't dwell on the implications of the injury.

 

 

Good advice .... very few people play football betond college (in an organized money paying league) and even few of those who do play for long. Your son needs to take the time to discover other facets of his life.

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Perhaps this is hearing the lock click on a door that was never open to begin with. I'm sorry to hear about his injury, and i hope he recovers quickly and fully, but now he'll have to focus on what he's going to do with the rest of his life.

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Well my plan was for me to get into Yale, so the standards had to be high. I was accepted, but I ended up at Cornell. I've learned to appreciate the tough standards I was held to. When you get the ball rolling with a successful high school career, it opens doors, and my parents knew what I was capable of.

 

 

Wow, pretty impressive. Why did you end up picking Cornell over Yale?

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Perhaps this is hearing the lock click on a door that was never open to begin with. I'm sorry to hear about his injury, and i hope he recovers quickly and fully, but now he'll have to focus on what he's going to do with the rest of his life.

 

 

I have to agree. Maybe this will be the event that makes him buckle down in school & start concentrating on what is important. John it sucks that he is not going to play football his senior year of high school. That is what I would be most sad about. To be sad about thinking this is going to ruin his chances of playing college football, the bottom line is he probably was not going to play college football anyways since the colleges have not shown much interest in him to date.

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Wow, pretty impressive. Why did you end up picking Cornell over Yale?

 

When I actually got around to visiting Yale, I found it to be just about the most pretentious place on Earth. Every professor, teaching assistant, tour guide, etc that I came across was so full himself that I just knew it would be 4 years of hell.

 

My sister was already going to Cornell so I was familiar with the campus and the general atmosphere. I find it to be the perfect mix of great academics with a genuine college experience. Cornell, to me, is for intellectuals who want to attend college and not a country club full of trust fund babies where you happen to take classes.

 

Might I add that grade inflation is running rampant through Yale, Princeton and Harvard, while at Cornell it is still challenging to pull a 3.0. Despite delusions of grandeur, those other schools are actually quite a bit easier to graduate.

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John

 

I am not saying your kid isn't a good football player but lets be honest, was his main goal to get a full ride to a big school or to just play with his friends and have fun? If he was trying to get a scholarship his grades wouldn't allow for that to happen anyway.

 

See what the DR says before getting all upset. I did the same thing and was able to play the last 5 games of the season. Actually has surgery on new years day and was fine by April. Good luck.

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John

 

I am not saying your kid isn't a good football player but lets be honest, was his main goal to get a full ride to a big school or to just play with his friends and have fun? If he was trying to get a scholarship his grades wouldn't allow for that to happen anyway.

 

See what the DR says before getting all upset. I did the same thing and was able to play the last 5 games of the season. Actually has surgery on new years day and was fine by April. Good luck.

 

You touched on what I was going to say...

 

I don't know the details. I don't know his son. I do have a small inkling of how hard he was pushed over the years through John's posts.

 

A kid who is a B student, who is told over and over again that his football future is going to vanish if his grades plummet, and STILL let's his grades tank so badly that schools won't touch him - is passive-aggressively telling you he doesn't want to play at that level. Getting average grades in HS is like asking someone to breathe. It's stupid easy unless you are actively trying not to get them.

 

He may love football and enjoy playing it with his friends, but letting his grades go by the way side (and knowing the consequences of that) is a sign that doesn't share the dreams of his father. It just is.

 

So, maybe instead of plotting how John-boy is going to get his GED to go to Jr. college, transfer and redshirt at Div III east-bumf*ck, send Easter hams to the coach at Div II Mt. Nowhere in hopes of another transfer, so that maybe he can leave college with $50k of debt, no worthwhile degree or skills, and no shot of even being camp fodder in any professional league you might want to take this opportunity to re-evaluate the path he is on.

 

That's just my opinion though....

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Sorry to hear about your son, John, but to somewhat paraphrase Rabbi Harold Kushner, your issue should not be "Why is this happening to me?" but rather "Where does this take me?"

 

You can't fix anything until you figure out the difference between those two reactions. All the better if your son walks away learning the same exercise.

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or rather my son to deserve this bad luck....

 

- Things are going great

- Even though his grades were crap his coaches were willing to step forward and help him to make sure he was playing football past his senior year

- Starting positions both ways......a team captain

- Getting ready to compete against some of the best talent in Southern Califoria at the Max Preps All America combine......100 players coming from all over the west coast by invitation only

 

 

So he is getting ready for the final passing tournament of the season then 3 weeks of offtime before the start of training camp. He is warming up and goes up for a pass that is thrown too high comes down BAM

 

Blows out his knee.......

 

We are hoping it isn't his ACL but we have already been to the free clinic and the doc said it was.....if this is true he is out for his senior season we are going for a second opinion tomorrow and trying to get an MRI as soon as possible.

 

This in essence might finish things for him.......

 

I'm so sorry for your lad, John. With hope, he will fully recover.

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If that's the case, you may as well round up every Asian & Indian parent and call them Hitler.

 

Hey wait a sec....is that why 90% of the world's scientists will be living in Asia within the next 10 years? :rolleyes:

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You could help him get started on his future...

 

No one should EVER plan on being a professional athlete. The failures are epic and those who don't have a fallback plan often end up in jail or dead. It sucks that your son suffered such an apparently serious injury but in reality it's probably a wake up call to both of you.

 

Sometimes tough love is the only answer.

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If it's an MCL, your new job is to help your kid put football behind him. Based on what you said, he was going to barely make it in a college program before. Now he's a true long shot to make any college team.

 

Since he has trouble with grades, it's time for him to ditch football and focus on what matters both in high school, college, and beyond. The last thing a poor student needs throughout college (unless he's a pro prospect which you've said your son is not) is a football distraction. Get him to start focusing on his real future, which is between his ears.

 

That's easier said than done but parenting is hard. The last thing you want is for your kid to be bitter about a missed football career for the next 70 years.

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I have to agree. Maybe this will be the event that makes him buckle down in school & start concentrating on what is important. John it sucks that he is not going to play football his senior year of high school. That is what I would be most sad about. To be sad about thinking this is going to ruin his chances of playing college football, the bottom line is he probably was not going to play college football anyways since the colleges have not shown much interest in him to date.

 

Just FYI on this.....interest was picking up just not at the Div I level.

 

Not that it makes any difference now.

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You touched on what I was going to say...

 

I don't know the details. I don't know his son. I do have a small inkling of how hard he was pushed over the years through John's posts.

 

A kid who is a B student, who is told over and over again that his football future is going to vanish if his grades plummet, and STILL let's his grades tank so badly that schools won't touch him - is passive-aggressively telling you he doesn't want to play at that level. Getting average grades in HS is like asking someone to breathe. It's stupid easy unless you are actively trying not to get them.

 

He may love football and enjoy playing it with his friends, but letting his grades go by the way side (and knowing the consequences of that) is a sign that doesn't share the dreams of his father. It just is.

 

So, maybe instead of plotting how John-boy is going to get his GED to go to Jr. college, transfer and redshirt at Div III east-bumf*ck, send Easter hams to the coach at Div II Mt. Nowhere in hopes of another transfer, so that maybe he can leave college with $50k of debt, no worthwhile degree or skills, and no shot of even being camp fodder in any professional league you might want to take this opportunity to re-evaluate the path he is on.

 

That's just my opinion though....

 

SDS....yes you dont know the situation. I will leave it at that.

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Stuck....I appreciate your good will post.

 

 

You're welcome, John.

 

Through the years, you have shared things with us about the goings-on with your family. Good times, bad times alike.

 

Along the way, I'm certain that your expressions about raising your children have helped many that face similar issues, though some do not care to admit so.

 

I've no doubt that your boy, like your daughter, has a big heart. Not being cold can and often hurts, but there is nothing greater that parents can pass on to their children...your children will be among the ones that love the springtime, that prefer the dawn over the twilight.

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SDS....yes you dont know the situation. I will leave it at that.

 

You are right - I don't. But, do you want everyone to pull punches, slap you on the back, and wish you luck or are you looking for people to give you an honest assessment?

 

Needless to say, your posts about your disappointment in his prospective football future (even if it ends at college), when the kid is pulling D's in core courses is as backasswards as it comes. As it stands now, Brett isn't even learning what he's supposed to in high school, let alone what is going to be presented to him in college. You aren't going to be able to solve differential equations when you didn't bother to learn basic math.

 

I would have expected the original post to come from Brett, because he is young and doesn't know any better. A kid's short term ambition often clouds his view of his long term future. However, it didn't come from Brett, it came from you. I'm not quite sure how you managed to type:

 

- Things are going great

- Even though his grades were crap

 

in the same post and think nothing of it. :rolleyes:

 

If Andrew was pulling D's in core courses in high school I would be throwing up at night. You presented his falling grades to us as a mere obstacle to him getting signed by a D1 school. John, that is messed up.

 

I'm not telling you how to raise your kid. That's your job. You need to figure that out for yourself. But if you're going to solicit comments about your situation, then my take is that I hope he gets his stojan together, learns what he needs to in high school, and manages to find a career that he loves and can support himself. I hope his knee gets better and can lead a happy, healthy lifestyle. Whether he plays college football or not is the least of his worries...

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Might I add that grade inflation is running rampant through Yale, Princeton and Harvard, while at Cornell it is still challenging to pull a 3.0. Despite delusions of grandeur, those other schools are actually quite a bit easier to graduate.

 

Ahhh, the good old college inferiority complex.

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