It’s not the money part or the ‘athlete’ part. And I realize that it’s a bit naive but, as the parent of two teens, I guess I still cling to the ideal that kids should be kids and parents should be parents. It’s not kids as ‘athletes’ and parents as ‘managers’. The fact that these kids are being exploited today doesn’t make me want to institutionalize it tomorrow.

Raising a child is the parent’s responsibility. I don’t know the Findlay parents but if my son was blessed with the skills to play professional basketball, I’d still want him living under my roof, by my rules and by my example. He would grow up with his brothers and sisters, sleep in his own bed, and learn what it’s like to attend school with (and relate to) ordinary folks playing on a team with a mix of players of ordinary ability and other interests/talents. And his team might even lose more than they win. You get the point, I just think the wrong things are being emphasized at the wrong point in these kid’s development. A young man needs to learn and appreciate who he is, he needs to know life and how to succeed in life outside of his role as ‘athlete’.

Of course, I know nothing of Findlay Prep that wasn’t in the article I just hope that parents who choose the Findlay Prep’s of the world will do so in the right manner and for the right reasons.