Film Analysis: Trophy Kids

“I will never be satisfied!” Many athletes may have heard this statement once or twice in their athletic careers from their coaches, but to hear it come from a parent is very unexpected. In the documentary Trophy Kids, follows the story of five families whose life is centered on their child’s success in sports. It goes behind the scenes of what each of the parent’s strategies are in order to push their child to the next level of becoming the next all-star athlete. Although, what they fail to realize is they lose sight of what is important. That is, it is important for their children to enjoy the sport and for the parents to not get caught up in the hype that the child will one day be a professional athlete. They are kids; they need to be able

Parents think that the more money they put into the child’s athletic expenses, they increase their chances of college scholarships and leading to a professional athletic career. An exceedingly amount of money can be spent on athletics because parents want to be able to provide every opportunity they can for their child to become better and to be successful. For example, at Jim-McLean Junior Golf Performance Academy, there are only twenty-four spots open each year for distinct private instruction. With limited entry comes at a cost of $39,875 to $58,875 annually. A noticeable agglomeration of money comes out of the family’s gross income to fund their child’s athletics. In fact, according to the New York Times, up to 10.5 percent of the family’s gross income is spent on sports. So a family making $50,000 a year will spend about $5,500 a year on sporting costs. Parents pay this kind of money because they have high hopes that by spending a fortune on athletics, it will guarantee that their kids will play in college and receive a college athletic scholarship. But even if their child does not receive the scholarship they hoped for, they now have to worry about finding ways in which they will pay for college. This idea of disbursing countless dollars on sports is ridiculous, a waste of time, and of course a waste of hard earned money. According to the NCAA, only 3.3 percent of high school athletes will play at the Division 1 level and after college, only .05 percent of athletes make it to the professional level. Parents feel that they have invested so much in their child that they expect a rewarding return. The pressure to encourage their child to be successful can be the reason why parents can be aggressive toward their