My son has chosen bowhunting over football

If he "Loves" football, he wouldn't even be considering walking away from it. There's really no reason to play if you don't have a passion for the sport. He needs to make sure he's quitting for the right reason, not just because two-a-day and practice are tough because even those things can really suck, they do help strengthen a kids mental toughness. Quitting because it's tough is a terrible trait to develop. He just needs to make sure he's making the decision for the right reason.

 

You cant hunt at night.

 

His knees will forever thank him. Smart kid.

 

Very hard call. As parents, we need to love them for who they are and try not to "live" through them.

On the other hand, if we don't push/encourage/prod occasionally they can miss out on some opportunities such as High School Sports that you only get to do a few short years.

If he really doesn't like football, then by all means, support his decision and move forward.

But if it is because he wants both, I would have to encourage him to reconsider football and hunt around the schedule as best as possible.

 

He's just 15 right? I'd let him sir out the year and keep a little wear and tear off his knees. If his love for the game brings him back then he still has a few great years ahead of him. If he's a stud and starting Varsity he's still going to take a pounding from bigger kids, if he's on JV then again it's not much missed. I played all through college and every time I side hill I think "I should have played baseball" :-)

 

Id get the boys mind changed back to playing football Plenty of time to bow hunt on the side.... Football not only is great for building muscle strength so he can drag his and your deer out at the same time!!! LOL but if he sets his mind and goal to football it could open up great scholarships for colleges all over... which is a huge relief on your wallet!

 

Couple of things to keep in mind. High school football is not like it was when many of us played. There is film study, weight training, and practice. My son graduated last spring so he is done but to play in games you had to pass a written test after watching video of the next opponent. The scholarship potiential is honestly a myth for the vast majority of players

 

I quit football in highschool once I had drivers license so I could hunt after school (but I was also a whopping 110 pounds and lacked the fire needed in football).

I now coach my sons in youth football, but also have them on track to gun hunt this year and bowhunt as soon as they can handle the 40lb bows correctly. All I can do as a dad is give them the pros/cons of both and hope the make good decisions. Luckily in IL, there is tons of bowseason left after football so you can do both - I just didn't want to do both come my junior year of HS.
Youth football does pretty much wipe out my Oct bowhunting though. I do think they both would pick basketball over football if it ever gets to that point and I'm OK with that also, I didn't play, but have come to love the game of BB and coach them in that as well.

 

I quit playing sports for my senior year and spent more time in the woods. Now that I'm 32 I realize I can hunt every year until I die, but I'll never get to play high school football again and I wish I had taken advantage of that last year. Sometimes kids get burned out with sports, I did from years of baseball, basketball, and football, but make sure he thinks hard about it before throwing in the towel.

 

Wouldn't push my kid either direction...plenty of time and years ahead of him to push him to not do one thing or another. Embrace and support his choice.

 

I just finished playing football two years ago and hunted all the way through it. Yes you miss Friday nights of hunting and possibly week days too but I decided I could play football for 4 years and I can bow hunt for the rest of my life...


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I played baseball and basketball through most of high school and was able to remain more "into" hunting than either sport. If I had to choose I would have dropped the sports and I would still be glad I did.

Especially in today's "social" world...some time in the woods is probably more educational and rewarding...and definitely better for the soul than getting pounded on the football field, dealing with sport/team politics and the pressures that come with all the above. If I had kids I'm not sure I'd encourage them at all to play sports period if they wanted to be outdoors instead.

 

I made the same decision back when I was in school. I am glad I did. My body is beat up enough from working. I would personally give him the goods and bads of both and let him decide. My dad who was an assistant coach sat me down and did that and then said I dont care what you do as long as you do something and you stay out of trouble.

 

CJ hunted a total of 3 days last year, on days off from football (13 -yrs old will be 14 in 10 days) Middle school football / he loves both. he killed a buck the 2nd day in the stand and a doe on the 3rd day ( 3 weeks apart). just enjoy the time in the stand with him, if its all season or the 3 days. i too let him choose he chose to do both.

 

I had to put hunting aside for a long time to pursue my other passion, golf. It eventually led to me playing collegiate golf, but those are years of getting to hunt with my brother I will never get back. However I also have years of great memories with great friends that I will never forget.

 

What's football?
:p

 

One of the things I teach the kids in the youth at our church is that EVERY decision or choice you make sacrifices something. There is no decision or choice that doesn't...so while it is true at times there are decisions which may be clearly defined as right and wrong; those decisions still sacrifice things. This topic usually comes up when they state or complain how much "fun" or "other" things Christians have to give up to try and live Godly.

The parallel can be drawn however to any instance; just like the one in this thread. If a son chooses to play football YES it is true he will lose time and stories he could have had in the woods.....and if he chooses hunting, then he also will lose time and stories he could have had on the field. Every decision in life isn't easy because something is always given up due to the choice. Teaching kids that should be first and foremost, and will help them begin to see that they must have reasoning behind their decisions because things are affected and memories are as well. (not always easy to do though with a teenager haha)

 

Opportunity Cost is what it is called

 

I don't understand. The games are on Friday, how does that prevent weekend hunting? He could easily do both.

 

Most football programs have Saturdays for watching game film and weight lifting