[footfootfoot]

Lookout,
I can relate to your feelings about parents and their ego involvement in their kid's sports-and-everything-else lives. There are parents who understand what the real value of the game and the awards are about and there are the parents who are in it for the power and prestige.

I'm sure you saw that in the service; the disparity between the people who will use the system to further their own goals and the ones who honor the spirit of their oath.

It is a shame that parents will use children as pawns to further their political and financial goals, but those people are like weeds. It's a never ending struggle; at best you keep them at bay, but there will be a couple of kids you will nurture and help grow and impress with your values and they'll benefit from your effort, however uninspiring it may seem to you at the time.

If you think back to all the people who've helped form your character over the years, I bet very few of them even know how much they meant to you.

So, don't let the bastards grind you down.

(but for the record the bastards are asswipes)