I wish Ferg well and I hope all things go well for him and that he has no regrets later in life.

 

I will say this....I hate to see such talent wasted. Whether it be burnout, a girl, whatever, there are whole lot of kids playing basketball wishing they had Ferg's talent and opportunities to play at the next level and receive a free education.

 

Like I said, I wish him well, I just hate to see talent wasted regardless of the reason.

 

He was, and is a very special player whose jumper will be sorely missed by some school somewhere.

 

Quite honestly, I don't think I would handle it well at all if my son was in a similar situation and quit. It may be wrong but it's the truth.

 

 

 

:thumb: I'm with you there PP.

I wish Ferg well and I hope all things go well for him and that he has no regrets later in life.

 

I will say this....I hate to see such talent wasted. Whether it be burnout, a girl, whatever, there are whole lot of kids playing basketball wishing they had Ferg's talent and opportunities to play at the next level and receive a free education.

 

Like I said, I wish him well, I just hate to see talent wasted regardless of the reason.

 

He was, and is a very special player whose jumper will be sorely missed by some school somewhere.

 

Quite honestly, I don't think I would handle it well at all if my son was in a similar situation and quit. It may be wrong but it's the truth.

 

 

Why couldn't you handle your son not doing something he doesn't want to do? Would you really want your son to be miserable doing something he doesn't want to do and perhaps not having the time to do the things he wants to do, just for the sake of talent not being used or some school benefitting from his jumper? Heck, he can use his talent on the intermural or fraternity team if he decides he wants to do so.

 

No way as a parent I would feel the way you do or think you would. No way. I've dealt with this issue. I could tell my son lost some of his passion for playing football in college and that he wanted to concentrate on his grades. I realized that he was only playing because he thought I wanted him to play and because I had played football at the same college years ago. When I came to that realization, I convinced him not to play for those reasons. Selfishly, would I have enjoyed watching him play? You betcha. But good Lord, what kind of loving parent would I have been if I placed my own enjoyment in front of his?

 

Life's short and can end in a moment. No doubt there are things that we don't want to do but have to do (like work), but playing college sports for the benefit of the school or to appease some people's desires is definitely not one of those things in my mind.

Just my thoughts:

1. Don't criticize the parents unless you've talked to them personally about the situation. These were quotes in a paper, and for anyone who has ever been interviewed knows they don't put everything you say in the paper. It may be out of context.

2. As far as I know, Jonathan had hinted around that he may not play college basketball. A friend of mine spoke to Dale at a Basketball game early this season and that is what Dale said may happen. Might not have been a final decision, but it was certainly a possibility.

3. It is his decision. It is selfish for anyone to think that they know what is best for him. He may truely be burned out. He may be doing it for a girl, who knows but him and his family.

4. If it was over a girl I think it shows that he is burned out because it shows that he has realized that other things are more important to him than Basketball. I applaud his decision, because College sports is not something you can do half-heartedly. If it's not what you want to do, then you shouldn't do it. I wish Jonathan the best in what ever he wishes to do.

5. It would be disapointing for any parent, but you have to remember that you have to let your children live their lives.

 

 

Leatherneck that was a great point you made.

 

Guys it is just basketball. How sad would it be to go away from home, and spend most of your free time doing something you didn't completely want to do?

 

I totally agree.

BGP burnout :banana:

 

Now that's funny. :laugh::notworthy::laugh::notworthy::laugh:

Edited May 9, 200917 yr by Ram
Rule 13

One of my best friends and roommate in college fell victim to the burnout syndrome so yes it can happen. He was Region Player of the Year and All State first teamer. Could have went full ride to a few D-1 schools, but his decision was going to be either for EKU or Western. During that spring, and before signing anywhere he decided he just wanted to go be a normal college student, and do things outside of basketball. To this day I have never heard him say anything about any kind of regrets.

delete

If he's going to be a pharmacist, I don't blame him. That's going to take nearly 100% concentration. Someone said that this is a waste??? Really? The kid isn't going to be hanging out on his parents' farm drinking beer. He's going into a competitive field. If he wants to hang out w/ his girlfriend, then let him. He doesn't owe anyone anything. He had a great career, one which helped bring prominence to a small community. He gave his community many great memories, now its time for him to be able to make some for himself that are just for him. This takes guts, and I admire him for it.

Why couldn't you handle your son not doing something he doesn't want to do? Would you really want your son to be miserable doing something he doesn't want to do and perhaps not having the time to do the things he wants to do, just for the sake of talent not being used or some school benefitting from his jumper? Heck, he can use his talent on the intermural or fraternity team if he decides he wants to do so.

 

No way as a parent I would feel the way you do or think you would. No way. I've dealt with this issue. I could tell my son lost some of his passion for playing football in college and that he wanted to concentrate on his grades. I realized that he was only playing because he thought I wanted him to play and because I had played football at the same college years ago. When I came to that realization, I convinced him not to play for those reasons. Selfishly, would I have enjoyed watching him play? You betcha. But good Lord, what kind of loving parent would I have been if I placed my own enjoyment in front of his?

 

Life's short and can end in a moment. No doubt there are things that we don't want to do but have to do (like work), but playing college sports for the benefit of the school or to appease some people's desires is definitely not one of those things in my mind.

 

 

I would like for my son to let me know before I go broke supporting him at various AAU tournaments, practices, nationwide trips, etc. etc before he decides he doesn't want to play anymore. Spending 20,000 dollars so my son can play basketball against the best and brightest across the country is not something I can just recover from financially as if nothing happened. I would hope my son would make up his mind in high school where he wants his playing career to go before I put the 2nd mortgage on the house to support him. Once my son gets to college and decides he doesn't want to play is a different issue than the one we are discussing. That's a completely different ball game. It would be really hard for me if I was in Ferg's parents shoes. Really hard. Think about all the other things we could have done as a family if not for the AAU tourney in Vegas, or California, or Ohio, or D.C. The sacrifices that we parents make for our kids future are tremendous and for me personally, it would be hard for me to handle.

 

Now, that being said, my kid would never ever know how hard it is on me. I love and support my kids and I always will. I wouldn't turn my back on them or love them any less, but it would take me a long long time to get over it. If that makes me a bad person, so be it, but yes, it would be very hard for me to watch my kid walk away from the game after going through so much to support him while playing the game we thought he loved.

 

I also don't put any pressure on my kids to play sports. I have always let them make their own minds up which is why he isn't playing AAU now, but I know now what kind of passion he has for the game. He isn't playing football and I wish he would, but he gets no pressure from me. I wish he would play baseball, again, he gets no pressure from me to play baseball. These are his decisions and he doesn't know how much it kills me to see him sitting in his room playing on his computer, but that's what makes him happy, so be it, but he's wasted talent and it's sad, but he he has no idea how much it kills me and his mother and he never truly will. Like I said, I hate wasted talent, regardless of the reason, doesn't mean I'll condemn anyone for not choosing to play, I am just saying I don't like it and it would tear me up on the inside. Maybe the words "I don't know how I would handle it" are the wrong words, but it would tear me up inside. Forever.

Spoken from the heart Purplepride.

 

It is hard for kids to really know what they want to do, so we as parents facilitate as best we can what they tell us their goals are. When they change their goals, we can't help but lament over what we knew the possibilities to be including a paid college education, so I understand your points.

 

To those that say it is just a game...they are right, and they are wrong. To many of the people involved with sports, it is a profession...coaching, training, etc. Those people influence our children's decisions and successes as much or more than the parents. Seldom do we or our kids walk away from the game altogether...just the structured environment. As far as the game, I know I am just as happy going to watch one of my kids play a pick-up game as watching an "official" event. The best of all was being on the floor with them in a pick-up game at the YMCA.