In the Stix: Little League Syndrome In The Nation

Some Parents Just Don’t Understand The Spirit Of Competition

By Jason Buckley

(Executive Editor’s Note:  The views expressed in this column are the views and opinions of the author of the article.  His views are not necessarily those of LegendsNation.com, its sponsors or other contributors.)

Will Smith, AKA the “Fresh Prince”, coined the phrase "parents just don't understand" in his 1986 Hip-Hop hit of the same name.  While he wasn't talking about the little league syndrome or parents in motorsports specifically, the term and opening lyrics of the song apply.

“You know, parents are the same, no matter time nor place

They don't understand that us kids are gonna make some mistakes

So tell you other kids all across the land

There's no need to argue, parents just don't understand”

Every weekend in the nation, Legends and Bandolero drivers head out to race tracks looking to race and win.  In some instances, the kids that come out to race are substituting the old pastimes of little league baseball and soccer for motorsports as their weekend activity.  While some are there to just have fun and race, others are looking to get noticed by sponsors and big-dollar teams so they can move up in the ranks of racing with the dream of someday racing in the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series.

Just about any doctor would say having goals is a good thing, but that isn’t the problem seen at most tracks.  The problem appears to be the parents and their attitude surrounding the whole sport of auto racing, which is extremely evident in the Legends and Bandolero ranks of racing where many kids get their start in the sport.  The worst place this is seen is at the Summer Shootout at Lowe’s Motor Speedway (NC), the biggest Legends and Bandolero racing series in the country.

I have attended the Summer Shootout for many years, including all races over the past three years.  Some of the things I have seen and heard about from parents have floored me.  Rather than supporting their kids in a positive manner, some parents have chosen to berate their kids in front of everyone for their lack of performance or a mistake on the track.  I have even heard stories of a parent taking their kid by the throat and slamming them against a hauler after an event.

What is wrong with these people?

The problem I see is parents who think their kid is the next Jeff Gordon.  They see drivers like Reed Sorenson and David Ragan race in the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series ranks now when they used to race Legends and Bandoleros.  They think their kid is more talented than the other 200 drivers that show up to race and feel that if they do not get the checkered flag every race, they will not get a shot at the big time.

Close competition at the Summer Shootout can get some frustrated.   (FASTRAC Images)

Many parents hope their child can win and get noticed, but the problem is the parental attitude going in.

Some parents are also living through their child.  They might have tried to get in the sport themselves, only to have failed or not had the breaks needed to get to the top, so they are pushing their child towards victory lane and beyond. 

I have news for these parents: it probably isn’t going to happen.  Out of the 200 plus drivers that raced during the 2007 Summer Shootout, less than a handful will probably ever get the chance to drive for a big time NASCAR owner, and the ones that will get the shot will not get it just because they are winning races.  In big time auto racing, you have to be a total package, including skill and marketability.  A kid racing out on the track could be the best talent behind the wheel, but if their attitude stinks, a sponsor won’t even look twice at them, especially if they have an overbearing parent that can’t control themselves, which leads me to a few other points about parents at the track.

I have heard parents arguing in the stands when their kids get into an altercation on the track.  I have even heard parents throw verbal jabs at other parent’s kids in some lame attempt to provoke issues.  Exactly what does that prove, that they are bullies?  What lessons does that teach?

I have also seen parents verbally attacking kids at the track for taking out their son or daughter on the track.  Yelling at a child isn’t going to solve anything.

The most interesting thing I have seen this year is a few parents attacking me at the track as a journalist for what was written about their son or daughter, claiming I made them look bad or have hurt their career in some way, shape or form.  First off, the articles on Legends Nation are factual based and not opinion based from our end.  We tell what happened factually, then let the drivers or involved individuals tell their perspective.  It isn’t our fault if a driver tells us something that is rude towards another driver due to frustration on the track.  It also isn’t our fault if a driver decides to not comment or make little comment on a situation.  We attempt to get both sides, put it out there and let the public decide without our opinions placed within the story articles.  Our opinions are held back for opinion-editorial articles, like this one.

Yes, Legends and Bandolero racing cost money.  The expense to buy, run and maintain a car far exceeds the cost of a good old baseball glove, uniform and bat for a kid to go play in the local ball field on the weekends.  So I can understand why some parents are a bit “on the chip” if something happens at the track or their kid isn’t putting forth the effort they would like to see.  However that is something that parents need to understand before putting their kid in a race car, just like they need to understand that their kid probably will never make it to the big leagues of motorsports.  Unfortunately, some of the parents have the wrong attitude going in to the sport, which is not only harmful to the sport and the spirit of competition, but very damaging to the psyche of their child.

This doesn’t mean someone cannot be competitive, but there is a difference between being competitive versus an over-the-top parent. 

The racing world is more corporate now than it ever was, but that doesn’t mean the “fun factor” has to be removed and replaced with the “little league syndrome” some parents have.  In fact, I think it is quite the opposite.  If I owned a major corporation looking to find my next spokesperson on the race track, I would prefer the driver that wins occasionally that has fun doing what they do rather than the over-aggressive driver who has to win or wreck because their parents taught them the wrong message about life, racing and business.

My advice?  If you are a parent that gets too frustrated every time you go to the track, try to start verbal or physical fights with other parents, think your kid is definitely the next Jeff Gordon or wants to attack the media for printing truths that do not put your child up on a pedestal, sell your stuff now and get as far away from the sport as possible.   Chances are you are making your kid and everyone else around you unhappy because you do not truly understand the meaning of the sport and the spirit of competition. 

Some parents just do not understand.