quote:Originally posted by Wklink:
In many respects I feel sorry for Tiger. Now before you skewer me let me explain.
Many of us have run into parents that feel that their kid is the next superstar pro player and as a result they drive their kids to succeed in sometimes unhealthy ways. Heck, some of us may be one of 'those' parents sometimes. While supporting a kids desire to excell is healthy there are some parents that take it to the extreme. These are the ones that put constant pressure on their kids from a very young age to outperform their peers and if they don't they get read the riot act.
Tiger's dad appeared to be one of those parents. Tiger was a talent at an early age but the level of work that the kid went through from the age of four was amazing. That kind of singular focus from such an early age had to have a negative impact on his development. I remember seeing him on 'That's Incredible' back in the early 80s, he was hitting balls at six years old that I can't do now at 44. I just don't see him being socialized properly in such a background.
His dad controlled almost every aspect of his life from an early age until his death. It seems like Tiger didn't have these problems until the elder Woods passed away. It seems he reverted to that teenage mentality that many of us outgrew long ago. The only difference is that he was rich, famous and very popular. His drop in his game seems to mirror the loss of his dad as well. He really seems rudderless to me. Guys without a rudder tend to drift into the rocks and that is what he did.
I guess you can call what happened to Tiger a wake up call to parents everywhere. Tiger is rich, famous but I honestly don't think he is happy or even all that well adjusted. Parents should note that if you drive your kids toward one thing and smother them too much they can't turn into well rounded human beings. Tiger to me is a sad case of a father devoting his life to one thing at the expense of his son's well being.
I think yor perception is very true.
Oh how we as parents marvel at sport phenoms, but unfortunely, most are not happy individuals.