Remember when the biggest worry for a middle school boy was how to impress the girl who sat beside him in homeroom? Or deciding what to wear in P.E. class so he didn’t look like he had chicken legs? Or making sure the trash ’stache was in full effect?

Now, for one boy at least, there is a lot more involved in being an adolescent. This morning, I read about David Sills, a 13-year-old quarterback, who received a scholarship offer and made a verbal commitment to play football at USC. Apparently, this kid is an unbelievable quarterback, and there are a couple of videos to prove it.

He has a guy who’s known as the dreammaker nurturing him in the art of throwing a football and reading defenses. He’s being called the ‘next Tiger Woods’… yes, people are still brave enough to make that comparison.

Of course, he still has to prove he can play well in high school, and he has to graduate… middle school and high school.

I’m not as concerned with David Sills, in particular, but it brings the question: what position does this place a 13-year-old in? The videos, the media attention, the hype. That has to be a lot of pressure for any kid.

If we were to be honest, this is a good move for the family. If their son plays well, he becomes a media star, and he’s guaranteed a free college education. He’s also on a trajectory to be a professional athlete, and we all know they make ridiculous amounts of money. [Tiger Woods net worth is more than the GDP of some small country like the Federated States of Micronesia.]

But how young is too young to put in a child in the limelight? As a parent, I think about what my daughter will grow up to be and what role her mother and I will play in it.

I could go into my opinion of parents pushing children to play sports (or anything else), but instead, I want your thoughts.

Specifically, what do you think of a 13-year-old verbally committing to play college football? Oh, and would it be different if this was a 13-year-old medical student instead? Let’s talk about it.

{ 2 comments }