Yes, it’s possible to raise good kids in sports
There’s always going to be a right way and a wrong way to raise a child. Sometimes the line between the two gets blurred, especially when it comes to raising a child in the atmosphere of competitive sports.
It’s easy as parents for our instruction and actions to lean more to the “competitive” side than the “sports” side.
In my many years as a sports writer — and even sometimes as an editor — I have on many occasions stepped into the world of youth sports. I’ve witnessed the good, the bad and the ugly of it all. I’ve seen parents fail miserably in their dealings with their child as a budding athlete. But I’ve also seen them succeed to the point that witnessing that positive interaction brings a smile to your face, even a tear to your eye.
When you see it, you know it. You know they’re working to make it a positive growth moment.
Sometimes you don’t see it, but in conversations with the parent or the child you can hear it. You ask a question and the answer speaks volumes.
I recently experienced that situation when working on a story I wrote that appeared in The Weekly Vista in February. Braxton Muldoon, a senior at Gravette High School, had signed to play golf on the collegiate level at Newman University in Kansas.
On the day I interviewed his dad, Bella Vista Property Owners Association Director of Golf Operations Darryl Muldoon, I got a peak into the relationship he and his son — the entire Muldoon family, actually — enjoyed while navigating the world of competitive youth golf from both the standpoint of Darryl, the coach/dad, and Braxton, the player/son.
The coach/dad, as it should be, took a positive lead in the process.
The summer, especially for golfers, because that’s when the ones who want to take their game from high school to the collegiate level need to be out participating in youth tournaments, where they will be noticed by college representatives.
It can be a grind. But a good parent/coach knows how to handle the grind, keeping it fun which, in turn, will give improvement room to bloom.
“I remember going with Braxton to Texas,” Darryl said. “We had a good time at one of the events but he didn’t perform well. We made it a fun time, we learned from it and when we got back and got back to the working block I said, ‘Ok, what are you going to do next week when you go to Oklahoma? How are we going to improve on your game?’ We have to make it fun coaching them to get there.”
Darryl has been helping the members of the Gravette Lions’ golf team with their swings on the driving range. He’s also given advice to other young golfers at the request of their coaches and parents. His advice, though, isn’t limited to the players
“I can teach swings as technical for Rory McIlroy or as simple for an 80-yearold man who’s just having a struggle with his game,” he said. “We can teach all that, but where it comes down to is the support from the family while that student is going through his junior and senior year in high school to get to the transition to a university.”
That’s how the entire family can play a part in the process.
“Family support is huge,” Darryl said, “and I want to thank my wife, Andrea, for that, because she brings it down to earth. And that’s big.”
Braxton has probably started is summer prep work for his freshman year. Yes, even though he has signed his letter of intent he knows there’s an entire summer of work on the horizon. His coach knows it, too.
“This summer he’s got to grind, he’s got to get out there and go,” said Darryl. “That’s where his passion for the game of golf really has to be transparent. You’ve got to see it.”
It will be seen in the results.
“You reap what you sow,” Darryl said. “What you put in is what you get out.”
Just like when you’re raising a child.