Why You MUST Put Your Kids in Sports as a Parent | Let's Get Real Ep. 18

THE GAME-CHANGING POWER OF YOUTH SPORTS

Former D1 football player drops UNFILTERED wisdom on why youth sports matter more than ever. No BS talk on football safety, when kids should start, and the REAL lessons sports teach that America desperately needs.

"Sports isn't just for the love of the game—it builds discipline, work ethic, and the mental toughness to overcome life's inevitable beatdowns. In a world where everyone's looking for the easy way out, athletics teaches you the only option is to keep grinding forward."

Hard-hitting insights from someone who's been through the trenches—shoulder surgery, broken bones, and all. This isn't just talk from the sidelines. This is battle-tested knowledge from someone who knows what it takes.

Watch now: https://youtu.be/tbYuvwmghVU

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Episode Transcript

Stoy (00:00):
Sports and you can see obviously that I played.

(00:02):
For those that don't know, I didplay D one football at Drake
University and I've been askedthese three questions a lot when
it comes to youth sports.
So we're gonna dive a little bitinto youth sports and kind of my
opinion overall on them.
But let's first get to the threequestions.
One being, are you sports worthit?
Is football safe enough for mykid?

(00:23):
Or when should they start?
And third.
What did sports do for you?
So first is, are you sportsworth it?
Obviously?
I believe so.
A little biased in myself.
Um, but ultimately I believeyouth sports are worth it as
long as your kid is wanting toand has the passion for it and
continues to have fun.
And I've seen it.

(00:44):
Uh, our boys, uh, play soccer,football, basketball, some
wrestling in there as well.
Um.
My wife and I both were D oneathletes.
So like, it's in our blood.
It's in their blood, but also westrive to use it as a tool to
grow them too, right?
So sports isn't just for thelove of the game and, and

(01:05):
practicing in that.
Uh, there's so many life lessonsin sports, comradery, family
work ethic.
Discipline, shit, yourintelligence level, overall,
athletic ability, nutrition.
I mean, there's just so manythings that are just simply
amazing when it comes to sportsin general.
Uh, but when it comes to youthsports, and that can be any
sport, obviously I hit upon theones that we know.

(01:28):
Uh, but that really can attainto any type of youth sporting
event.
Uh, those are going to come intoplay.
However, you gotta be ready as aparent, um, to.
Not only take them pay for allof those things.
'cause let's be real, uh,majority of youth sports are
just a money grab.
And I don't mean that they'rejust a money grab, but I mean
that they, it costs a lot.

(01:49):
Uh, the higher levels you get,the more coaching you get, et
cetera.
Sometimes they're worth it,sometimes they're not.
You can see all the interwebsfor all those things.
People have opinions on bothsides of those, we as a family
are, we know what we want to do.
We know we spend more money onit.
Um, it's important to us.
It's, it's in our blood, it'swhat we've done, but also like

(02:09):
we would rather spend that timeand energy and money and
resources on them.
To do this, uh, then so far,much putting into our retirement
or stuff like that.
And that's our opinion.
That's what we decided to do.
Doesn't mean that's what youneed to decide to do.
Um, but all of those efforts,uh, from a youth sports, all the
things that you get to learn ismightily important for the
development of, of our children,in my opinion.

(02:32):
Um, some won't gravitate towardsit, some will, but as a parent,
you gotta be ready to take itpast the level of just coaching
at practice.
You have to help them staydisciplined, practice at home,
and stay in the game no matterwhat.
And that doesn't justnecessarily mean you need to
coach them when you're at home.
Although that's a very bigpoint.

(02:53):
The other point is stayingdisciplined to the things at
home as well, because disciplineis the key element in sports.
And if you're not holding themaccountable to the things at
home, I.
It's then gonna spill out ontothe field or court or wherever.
And now you're gonna rely on thecoaching to have to do that.
And sadly enough, in today'sworld, coaches really don't hold

(03:13):
the kids to, as disciplined andin check as I believe they
should be, as my wife believesthey should be, um, for whatever
reason, right?
They're softer.
It's a different generation.
You as parents, uh, bitch andmoan that your kid's running or,
or being.
Disciplined, right?
You have to run, you have to dothose things.
The second question that getsasked to me a lot is, is playing

(03:36):
football safe for a child?
You know?
Um, how do you feel after allthe years of playing those types
of things?
Uh, I truly believe football hasbecome safer.
Specifically, um, since Istarted right, we were taught to
put head to ball, which makesyour head point down a little
bit.
Um, you know, concussions, allthe research behind that has

(03:58):
improved drastically.
I'm also a proponent that theykids don't need to be doing
tackle football from the age ofone, third grade, fourth grade.
I mean, I didn't start untilfifth grade.
I believe, uh, was my first, um,time playing tackle football.
And I think that's.
Plenty fine.
However, I am seeing like flagfootball teams put pads on.

(04:21):
I'm seeing tackle football startas first grade, second grade,
and third grade like that.
It is pointless.
You're not learning anythingwith pads on at that age.
You're not even strong enoughfor the pads in general.
Um, and they're really notteaching anything you need to be
doing.
Yeah, flag to a degree, but youneed to be doing skill sets, uh,
workouts and those thingsbecause football you grow into

(04:42):
later, right?
There's not a lot of that goingon.
And that's, and I speak for alot of athletes out there.
There's a lot of pro athletesout there.
A lot of'em start later infootball.
I.
Um, and I think that is a hugeproponent, wrestling's a huge
one, and soccer.
Those two will help you furtheralong in football, in my
opinion.
And then you can start tackle infifth, sixth, kind of whatever

(05:02):
you feel comfortable with.
But in my opinion, it is a safe,safer sport.
I mean, there's research outthere that shows there's more
concussions in soccer than thereis in football.
Just football.
Our collisions are a lot more,and you see it, they're a little
more gruesome.
I love the hell outta thatsport, so can't really speak
against that.
And our son, our oldest Lincoln,he'll be starting tackle
football this fall.
So, uh, it's a proponent, westand behind.

(05:23):
As long as you're teaching safepractices, it's just fine.
Every sport's gonna have ainjury.
I.
But you gotta learn how to getthrough it.
And then third, what did sportsteach you and where does it, has
it gotten you?
I've been very, very fortunateand lucky.
I've had some of the bestcoaches that I think are in the
world from early on in mychildhood through collegiately.

(05:45):
Um, and they're now doinggreater and better things at
different levels, um, in thecollegiate or in NFL ranks.
So like.
I got very, very lucky to havevery great coaches growing up.
Not everyone gets that, so, um,little different for me, but in,
in retrospect, looking upon it,it built me to who I am now.

(06:06):
Both I.
Physically, positively, youknow, work ethic, discipline,
um, intelligence, all of thatthing.
But also it hurt me physically.
I've had shoulder surgery, I'vebroken my thumb, I've torn my
Achilles, should probably getsurgery in my right arm.
I gonna do it like it's brokenme down too.
But the amazing thing aboutsports is it teaches you

(06:27):
adversity and how to overcomeand to keep going through it.
And guess what?
That correlates to life morethan anything.
In life, as you know, as adults,shit sucks.
Adulting is hard.
Things kick you down, put youdown.
You have adversity all the time,and there's only one option.
You have to keep going.
The thing is, do you have theability to keep going?

(06:47):
Are you gonna rehab?
Are you gonna take the necessarysteps to continue that path?
And in sports, you have to dothat when you get injured.
You have to do that when you'reon a losing team or you're not
good at a certain thing, youhave to practice and put in the
time and the grinding to getbetter.
I think that's what's missing inAmerica overall.
Not everyone's been an athletebefore or even in the military
where you teach the sameprinciples and now we've got

(07:10):
people trying to do things easyto take the easy way out.
And it's not that life's notthat way.
It is a hard grind that you haveto get through.
And so simple answer is yes,sports.
Man, uh, I wouldn't be standinghere doing this podcast, um, or
this, let's get real episode,our podcast, everything I do for
people, if it wasn't for it.
Uh, so if you're on theborderline or you're on the

(07:31):
fence, uh, and you're not anathletic parent and you have an
athletic child who wants to dothings, reach out, comment,
right?
Use this as a platform or let'stalk through some things and we
can help you as much aspossible.
So.
Hey, Nike says, just do it.
Take a few steps.
Just let the child happen,develop, but you have to use
those things at home.
It'll make you a better parent.

(07:53):
It'll make them a better, um,overall adult when they get
there.
And fundamentally, just being anathlete is one of the greatest
things that's ever happened tome.