You Need to Know How to Coach Your Kid to Make Millions

My Son Wants to be the Next GOAT.

I grew up as a latch key kid and trying to turn that around with my kids, especially my son who wants to be the next GOAT in football. I briefly mentioned my son in a recent article, and now I’m going to discuss his training plan.

Any star athlete has put in the work to get to where they are. These athletes put in hours and hours of training to be the best. Second place is not an option for them.

What is a GOAT?

If you are not familiar with this acronym, GOAT stands for Greatest of All Time, particularly in the sports world. Many athletes have been called GOAT. Some are Michael Jordan with the Chicago Bulls in basketball, Tom Brady of the New England Patriots in football, and Wayne Gretzky with the Edmonton Oilers, and Los Angelas Kings in hockey. My son may not be as legendary as these players but he could make an impact one day. I have to make sure he stays focused when it’s easy for athletes to get off on the wrong track and destroy their careers before even getting started.

Training plan

This summer, my son practices with the high school football team as they get ready for the season. Before the summer session even started, I had my son do push-ups and air squats at least Monday to Friday. I also bought him a set of dumbbells he curls with. During the spring, I figured summer practice was right around the corner in spite of the coronavirus changing everyone’s plans. So I had my son running long distances to get in shape. I didn’t want him to be shocked or play catch up when the team started formal practices. Sometimes you have to think ahead and put your mind in the head of a coach. What would they do when the players start practice?

Kids aren’t going to work out on their own unless you tell them. It wasn’t always easy to get my son to go running. Some days were easier than other days. Plus with summer approaching, I had to get him up at a decent hour before the 90 to 100-degree weather kicked in.

Then in late May, his coach was informing parents of the summer training plan. Kids started out practicing via Zoom sessions from their homes, basements, or backyards due to the coronavirus. As a parent, I had to make sure my son was awake since practice started at 9 am. Punctuality is key. Showing up a minute or two late sets a bad precedence and tells the coach that this player really doesn’t want to win. Plus football is a team sport. A player who messes up can bring more pain and suffering for other players. They may run extra laps or do more drills for a player’s tardiness.

Also around this time, I looked for a weight set since the gyms were closed. I checked Walmart which I knew had a lot of exercise gear. I went to the section where the exercise equipment was and I had never seen the store aisles so bare. I thought for sure they would have some exercise equipment but I was wrong. The coronavirus had a lot more people working out at home than I thought. So I did the next best thing and bought a weight bench and barbell set online. Some prices were very high as sellers were trying to take advantage of people who wanted these items that were in high demand. I finally found some equipment on eBay and the shipping costs were very high. Shipping for a 100 lbs weight set was over $100. I wanted my son to be in the best shape he could, so I thought buying the equipment would pay for itself. He does want to be the GOAT and I needed to help him be the best that he could.

Fortunately, I worked out since I was in high school when I bought my own weight set and bench. Back then, I read a lot of Muscle and Fitness magazines and have tried different exercises. In addition to the bench press, I had my son do the power clean where he lifts the bar up to his chest. Also, I help my son when he squats as I hand him the bar. It’s not the proper way but sometimes you have to be creative when a gym is not an option.

The team recently started football practice at school. Some days, they cancel practice since the school also has graduation ceremonies for other local schools. Because of this, I keep my son active either running or working out. I want him to keep up with his peers. No one becomes a GOAT sitting around playing video games all summer.

Playing Sports is Not Cheap

You may have heard stories about parents spending a fortune for their kids who play sports. I never imagined football would be so expensive with the clothes and gear that he needed. Football players need cleats, gloves, a mouthguard, different colored t-shirts and shorts for practice, as well as a few other items.

One day, my son said he wanted glasses to wear while playing. My son doesn’t have 20/20 vision so I figured this would help him play better. I took him to an eyeglass shop and prescription sports glasses were not cheap either. Plus they were Oakley glasses and if you have ever bought or look at the prices for these glasses, you know you’re spending a couple hundred dollars.

I can see why some kids do or don’t play sports because sports can be expensive. When I was a kid, I played ice hockey so you know they were a lot of gear. Fortunately, I worked while in high school so I was able to pay for my own equipment. I didn’t think football gear would be just as expensive as ice hockey equipment. With my son still growing, I’m sure he’ll need bigger sized equipment next year. My 13-year-old is 5’9” and over 200 lbs already.

Will COVID-19 Let the Kids Play Sports in 2020?

With a resurgence in people getting affected with the coronavirus, at least where I live, I wonder if kids will play sports in the fall. Schools are conducting a survey asking parents how do they want their kids taught in the new school year. There may be some virtual sessions and some in-class sessions as the schools are working out a schedule. There is a discussion they will limit class sizes with some students going to school two days a day and then having virtual sessions the other two or three days. My son mentioned they may play football games with no one in the stands. This would really be sad as hundreds of parents would be stuck at home wondering how their kids are doing.

As the football season starts, I want to make sure my son is ready. There is a lot of preparation for a future GOAT as well as support from their parents or guardian. A lot of preparation is involved outside of the formal practice session for football as well as other sports. No one becomes a GOAT just by going to their team practices. They put in the hard work that most don’t see.

Here is a clip of some professional football players in their offseason workout. Some people would consider them a GOAT in their own respective games.

To become a top tier player, a lot of hard work and dedication is required. Top athletes don’t wake up overnight and become a superstar. They have put in years of training and hard work. These players will spend hundreds of hours working on their own strength, speed, and agility, not to mention their playmaking ability.

Will my son become a GOAT one day? We will have to wait and see. Many factors come into play with this as about 1% of college football players make it to the pros. This is the road that not many players achieve.

Read this article next to see what else you can do to create a legacy:

Did you play sports when you were younger?

Tom Handy is a top Investment and Bitcoin writer on Medium, and the father of two kids. He retired from the Army and sits on several non-profit boards. Tom is the top Yelper in his community and a top Google Guide. He’s on several social media channels and you can find him on Twitter @tomhandy1 and Instagram @tomhandy1.