rjohnston - I take offense at some of your stance. I did not say my son was the best, I just said that he was in the wrong class. Listen, I don't know if it never happened to your child but kids and adults can be cruel. I have heard many comments over the years about my own son and others who are successful too. They often come from the kids and parents who LIKE to BLAME anybody else for their problems. To them, when you fail, it makes them look good because then you are on the same level as them. When you succeed, it makes them look bad so they will do anything and everything they can to try to stop you.
I will give you another story, my son's best friend worked really hard this summer so he could get a varsity starting position in football. Even though he was only a sophomore, he showed the coaches that he deserved the spot through his hard work and dedication. However, after the starting lineup was announced, he started to get harrassed in the locker room by some of the upper classman. Then, someone cut all of the tires on his car. There were even a few parents in the stand complaining that it wasn't fair that he was starting when he was only a sophomore (loud enough so his parents could hear it). It finally stopped when a senior held an "impromptu" meeting in the locker room and told the other players they had better stop and to leave him alone. He earned the position and he was the right person for the job. Now, this kid did nothing wrong but work his butt off to earn a varsity position. However, other kids who slacked off couldn't handle that he was finding success and they didn't. Instead of looking at themselves to see if there was something they did wrong, it was easier to attack him.
Another situation. Another good friend of my son started to play varsity basketball as a Freshman. The coach decided to move him from the Freshman team and into JV and some varsity. As soon as that happened, the accusitions started to fly. Everything from: "his dad is a coach in the school system" to "he must give 'favors' to the coach" came from many people, mostly from parents. It didn't matter to them that he was scoring 35-40 points per game on the freshman team and needed to move up. It didn't matter to them that he was often found on the basketball court day and night. It only mattered that he was playing and not them or their kid.
I could give you some more examples if you still don't think there is a problem. I do find it typical though that you would assume that the problem lies only with the athlete who is successful. That seems to be the mentality this days.
