06/21/2026
Some parents are so busy protecting their kid’s feelings that they’re destroying their ability to grow.
Every bad game has an excuse.
Every tough coach is the problem.
Every teammate is the reason.
Every loss is somebody else’s fault.
It’s bu****it.
The real world doesn’t care about your excuses, and neither does high-level sports.
Your kid is going to get coached hard. They’re going to get benched. They’re going to fail in big moments. They’re going to cost their team a game at some point.
Every athlete does.
So stop teaching them to look around for someone to blame every time things don’t go their way.
Because the second athletes believe everything is everyone else’s fault, they stop looking in the mirror.
And that’s where growth dies.
The strongest athletes I’ve ever been around weren’t the ones who were constantly told they were right. They were the ones willing to own their mistakes, get uncomfortable, and ask:
“What could I have done better?”
Not because they were the reason they lost.
Because they understood they could always be part of the solution.
Your job as a parent isn’t to be your kid’s defense attorney.
Your job is to help them develop accountability.
One day that coach won’t be there. That teammate won’t be there. You won’t be there.
All they’ll have is the habits you’ve helped build.
Stop raising athletes who need excuses.
Raise athletes who own their s**t.
