We’ve always had this problem where I don’t quite listen to him because he’s my dad
ian seidenfeld
the seidenfelds’ story is the classic of a father being a legend and a son following in his father’s famous footsteps.
mr. mitchel seidenfeld, the father, is a four time table tennis paralympics medalist which includes a 1992, gold medal in barcelona. for 2020, he was team usa’s coach.
mr. ian seidenfeld, the son, is an up and coming international competition paralympic table tennis player. for 2020, he was on team usa.
it was the seidenfelds, father and son for the 2020 tokyo paralympics, one the player, the other, the coach.
tokyo proved golden for mr. ian seidenfeld. he won the gold medal. the victory was meaninful as he had to defeat an opponent that he had lost to in an earlier round. mr. ian seidenfeld has something to add to the family mantel of riches.
ian, in an interview, discussed his father-son relationship by saying “we’ve always had this problem where i don’t quite listen to him because he’s my dad.” “i respect him, i respect everything he says and does, he’s a great player, but from the father-son aspect, we always butt heads a little bit more than i might another coach. but it’s great to have him. he’s the smartest table tennis player i know for sure.” nextshark.com
this story exposes the inherent conflict between parent and child. how many children do not listen to their parents? 100 percent? the story is of the conflict that children have with their parents. while they have respect for the, conflict still remains.
as children become adults, they must assert their independence. the parent-child relationship contains a “forever” authority figure. thus, a rebellion of sort is needed to make an adult. this child must know something more than the parent. the child must see some fault in the parent.
the story of the garden of eden may have some connection to the created breaking away from the creator in an act of defiance. in doing so, this defiance led to the state of adulthood and being independent.
with the seidenfelds, now that ian has emerged at the top of his game, he can now take on another type of relationship with his father. they are now contemporaries. thus, with the pressure off, the father-son relationship can now include a great friendship.
be well!!
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