The Do’s and Don’ts of Parental Involvement in Youth Sports
July 3, 2018
Corn, A. (May 10, 2018). Pros and Cons of Parental Involvement in Youth Sports. Full Article
The Do’s and Don’ts of Parental Involvement in Youth Sports
Parents play a pivotal role in either positively shaping a child’s sport experience or negatively influencing the outcome. Parents need to help their children discover the fun in the activities, why learning the basic fundamentals are important, and how to demonstrate good sportsmanship. Demonstrating warmth, compassion and being empathically attuned to your child’s desires, fears, and frustrations are as necessary as learning the athletic skills.
Participating in organized sports enables a child to derive many positive benefits such as:
Developing new physical skills, strengthening motor skills, and improving coordination.
Experiencing the joy of participation through trying and being a team player.
Working toward attaining mastery, and feeling competent and confident.
Allowing a child to dream.
Learning to handle adversity and accept defeat as no one wins all the time.
Showing respect to authority figures (coaches and referees), being considerate to teammates (as physical, cultural, or religious differences will exist), and displaying honesty (making the right call vs. cheating).