Olympitosis

Olympitosis. Have you heard of it? Probably not, seeing as I just made up the name for this chronic and slightly contagious syndrome. But I'm sure you would recognize the symptoms. Symptoms include crazed parents, yelling parents, six year old children landing multiple types of double jumps, skating for five hours or longer by force, unbelievable flexibility, skaters are always the youngest in their level, any many more. If you or your child are experiencing any of these symptoms contact your psychiatrist immediately.

Olympitosis is the belief that ones child will go to the Olympics. These parents seem to be blind to the fact that out of the thousands of figure skaters in the nation only 2-3 every four years will actually make the cut. No matter how hard you push your child, no matter how long you make them stay on the ice, or how young they are, the odds are not in your favor.

Olympitosis is often accompanied by living vicariously through the child. This means that the parent, who probably was not as successful in their day as he or she desired to be, is trying to fulfill their own dreams and compensate for their own regrets through their child.

Arguably one of the saddest symptoms of Olympitosis that appears in the child is burn out. Once the skater reaches age 12 or 13 they will no longer want to participate in the sport they have been forced to love. It's not to say that this occurs in every athlete, but it will occur in many. The chances of a child of Olymptoptic parents experiencing burn out are much higher than the chances of that child going to the Olympics. Yes they might make it to sectionals or even nationals but if the passion isn't there they will no longer want to continue to skate.

Olympitosis seems to sweep the nation every four years with the occurrence of the Olympic games. When a parent of a young child sees the athletes on television basking in the glory of their feats they, out of love or vicarious-living, want the same success for their own child. They often underestimate how difficult it is and how unique athletes must be to make it to that level. Olympic success is something born out of passion, not out of force.

I suppose I wrote this post to give a name to something people commonly know about and experience, especially at the rink. Most of these people exercise clouded judgement and will not listen to anyone who disagrees with them. The best thing you can do as a coach if you suspect that the parents of your student might have Olympitosis, is to limit lesson time and not take advantage. Many coaches often see this as a time to cash in on desires of vulnerable parents, even if it hurts the child. Please, coaches, try to exercise judgement and keep these parents at bay.

Happy Fourth of July and Best of Luck!!!