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Sometimes It Is TOUGH Being A Sports Parent http://www.sportsmentaltoughness.com
Welcome to the Mental Toughness Academy! I'm Craig Sigl, the Mental Toughness Trainer.
I have two teenage boys myself that play sports, so I get it how hard parental involvement
is in youth sports! It requires a lot of balance between cheer
leading them on and keeping your mouth shut, because none of us want to be perceived as
those overbearing parents in sports!
Being a sports parent can be a tough job...
We
all want the best for
our
kids
and
want them
to be happy and successful. Sometimes it is the system that parents bump up against. There
are some great coaches out there and a lot of times there are coaches that mean well,
but don't know how to help kids deal with the emotional side of their sport.
Most of us encourage our kids to play sports to learn focus, confidence, how to be a team
player, overcome adversity, develop a never give up attitude, the list could go on and
on.
Sometime in your child's playing career, they will encounter a coach who says or does something
that could have a tremendous impact on your kid, good or bad. Unfortunately, a lot of
young athletes think their coaches are gods and what they say is always the truth. This
can be really damaging if the feedback is negative. In our trainings, we help kids get
perspective on their coaches and as parents you should do the same as well.
Even if they have great coaches, sports parents need to understand a lot of young athletes,
get their validation as a worthwhile person from performing well and base their personal
value on whether they win or lose. This can be devastating, if they don't learn early
on that this is not true!
What you need to do as parents is to always refer them back to the reasons why they started
playing in the beginning. Help them focus on the fun, the skill-development aspects
of the sport simply for the challenge of mastering and improving and help them let go of the
pressure to win. Remember they have to want it for themselves. In fact, they have to want
it more than you want it. The most you can do is provide encouragement.
Here are some guidelines for sports parents to avoid parental pressure in sports:
1. Before child agrees to play a sport, have them sit down and make a list of what that
entails: the length of the season, weekend games, practices, packing their own bag, etc.
2. When a child needs to be disciplined, don't take away a practice or game as a punishment.
It isn't fair to the team. 3. Commit to not being one of those parents
pushing their kids in sports, so the motivation comes from within them.
4. Use setbacks as teaching moments and share some of your woe-to-win stories to help get
them there. Make them up if you have to!
Don't leave these teachable moments to the coaches. Don't worry if you don't have all
the answers. Your primary job, as a parent involved in kid's sports, is to provide them
with a safe place to land when they fall or when things get tough.
Our goal at the Mental Toughness Academy is to support sports parent in supporting their
kids to be the best athletes as well as happy well-adjusted kids that feel ready to take
on the world.
Visit http://www.teenmentaltoughness.com to download FREE:
"The 10 Commandments For A Great Sports Parent" ebook
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