Youth Sports Fanatics by Nature or Nurture? (Part 2)

In November, I was interviewed by Mark Hyman, professional journalist and blogger (Youth Sports Blog) about youth sports. He asked about our obsession with youth sports. 


I told him that we're a sports family. My wife and I both come from sports families. Read Youth Sports Fanatics by Nature or Nurture? for the long history. We love sports and either by nature or nurture our kids love sports too. None of us can get enough of sports.


Here is more proof that nature might have something to do with it. I was talking to my wife's grandfather Leroy, who is 97, he told us that his father was an athlete. In fact, his father, my son's great great grand father, played professional baseball in the Mississippi Valley league in the early 1900's. Leroy told us that could have advanced further in the sport, but his parents forbade him from playing on Sundays. 

Fred Sherman Whannel - Catcher - 1910 (Left)

The Main Point


What makes this nature or nurture debate even more interesting is that my son is a catcher and his grand father (My dad) was a college catcher and based on the picture above, my son's great great grandfather was a catcher too. (Check out the glove of the player on the left above - compare the glove in the picture to these historical gloves.)

Nic - Catcher - 2010