Defensive Dad

I am sorry if I have offended anyone, which I believe was stipulated in my response. I was referring to the child that did not want to run. Apparently, according to your acclamations this is not your son - so why get your accruements in an uproar unless I have hit a nerve? You apparently had a notion that I had attached my response to the wrong posting, because of the mix-up on the “Coach Jeff has the correct take on the situation about "fast off the line" but this kid needs some sports discipline.” Why in the world did you get so defensive when it was quite apparent to you that I wasn’t talking about your son?

I am concerned for any child that is inappropriately heavy for their age. If there is a family history of larger people in the family, then most likely the child will overcome the inappropriate weight as they age. (By the way, for your information - steroids are giving to people with allergies, asthma and other difficulties with breathing. [Summer, 2001, Northwestern University – ring a bell?] So don't get on your high horse about steroids, the stigma of steroids doesn’t pertain when given medicinally.) However, if a child has no family history and they are not on steroids then the extra weight at eleven years of age should be questioned by the guardian of this child. And if I were his parent, I would get a second opinion, because I am sorry to inform you that doctors sometimes do not see the obvious. Haven’t you (Jeff or Dan) read the statistics of the number of over-weight children in the U.S. and the catastrophic results this can have on the health of these children into their adult years? Diabetes Type II is at an all time high in this country – and it is a very nasty silent killer!!!!

Your son sounds like a real trooper, but I must confess that I do wonder when he has time to sleep. Baseball, weight-lifting, wrestling and football and of course in his spare time pole-vaulting a telephone pole through your backyard. I sincerely hope that he gets a sports-scholarship, maybe when he gets to college, he will finally have time to study. And yes Mr. Dan, I did notice and I quote “I guarantee there weren't any other freshmen doing what I had him doing to get in shape- intervals, 40's, 10's from a 3 pt stance”. Did your son have any fun during the summer? Or did you have him on drills 24/7? You know that one of the most difficult transition periods that adolescents must go through is into the high school situation. Nowadays it must be terrifying to even step into a school must less high school. But somehow I just know that you prepared him mentally as well as physically to handle this emotionally roller-coaster.

I really am sorry about that last paragraph, my flippant attitude is inappropriate but you got me angry. You see I really do care about kids, both their physical well-being and their emotionally well-being. I see too many kids nowadays that are dropped on this earth and must fend for themselves. I truly think that your assistance with your son is a remarkable concept, I wish more parents would participate. I hope that the two of you are building a bond that will never end. I love football and sincerely wish that there was a football channel that played year-round. After all they have baseball channels and basketball channels, why not football? Please give your kid a time to breathe and be a kid. I wish him and you well.

And to Coach Jeff, as Dan says “my take on Jeff's problem is his boy hates to run, period." My take was that he was lazy. You cannot imagine how many football players that I have seen in the semi-Pro teams that just flat out don’t show up for the practices because they 'just want to play football!' Dan was nice and I was blunt, but it all boils down to the same thing.

And to Utah, you can kiss my proverbial butt. My husband knows that I care about kids. And don’t bad mouth me because I am a woman. I can go one-on-one with you in a verbal argument any day, however I will not lower myself to your deranged mind.

Stephanie