So, thought I'd get my fellow Objectivist's thoughts. I have a son, 12. It appears he wants to quit his soccer team. For a long time, he has been asking the coach to put him in at forward so he can score goals. But, the coach repeatedly plays him in defense. My son's the fastest on the team. They had a 40-yd race at practice last week and he beat all the other players by a good 5 yards or more. Two weeks ago my son got pulled from a game because he took a soccer ball to the head. When he told the coach he was ready to go back in it just so happened that the position that needed to be filled was at forward. The team was getting killed, down 4-0 just before half time. With a minute or so left my son took a pass, raced by the opposing players and kicked a goal. Since being cubby-holed in defense for a few years in the sport it was his first outdoor goal ever. I wasn't there, but I understand the crowd went nuts, and it was clear he was a good offensive weapon. Since that halftime on we're back to the same thing - stuck on defense. Well, my son has a love of golf and it's pretty clear to me that he'd rather go practice that and play in tourneys than continue to play golf. He's been hinting this at me for a couple weeks now. You know...my first reaction is the ole "You need to stick to commitments...blah, blah, blah..." (the stuff I was raised on). But, you know what? I think my message will be, "Don't be committed to those who aren't committed to you", and encourage him to quit mid-season to pursue golf.

In my boy's case, he has suffered with substantial developmental problems since a year old. He has fought through it and recovered so well that he and I were included in an international documentary on the subject. He's come a long, long way and I'm very proud of him and what we've accomplished. But, early in soccer, 7 years ago or so, he was stuffed in as a defender because he was really struggling. Now, he's a serious offensive threat but the coach won't play him on offense. Of course, the coaches son plays on offense.

Anyway...I think there are some real lessons here and I appreciate your input.