advance their own ball

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Again, as a parent, you have to appeal to your children’s self-interest. Teach them to be their own best friend, to be selfish on their own behalf, and to advance their own ball. As I was raising my boys and teaching them to be psychologically-minded and to be smart about it, pretty soon they started to internalize the mind-set and then generalize it to a variety of situations. Isn’t that the ultimate goal of all discipline?

Hello, what does "advance someone's ball" mean in the above context? I guess it is a simile which associates with sports, if so, what does "ball" specifically refer to ? Basketball, baseball, etc?
Thanks!

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View best answer, chosen by iclearwater

@iclearwater,

The reference appears to be to football, where the entire mission is to keep "advancing the ball," play by play, yard by yard, until they enter the end zone and score a touchdown. In the interim, the goal is to at least advance the ball 10 yards every 4 plays (or less) for a "first down" which gives you the right to run 4 more plays (downs) for yet another first down, and so on. If you fail to advance the ball a sufficient distance, the ball is turned over to the opponent to try to advance "their" ball.

advance their own ball

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