Sports parents have a big impact on their young superstars. A healthy and successful sports experience will depend on sports parents' ability to instill confidence and self-esteem in athletes. Read sports psychology expert, Dr. Patrick Cohn's view on how to make sports a successful and fun experience.Youth sports are huge in today’s society. Coaches and parents have a tremendous impact on how children will engage in sports. I get several emails a month from concerned sports parents asking me how they should help their child superstar win at and enjoy sports. When working with young athletes, I often work with
parents themselves so parents can reinforce concepts I teach to athletes in our mental game coaching sessions. Below are eight simple guidelines for sports parents to adopt with youth athletes.
8 Simple Guidelines for Sports Parents:
1.Sports should be fun for kids. Treat sport as a game—It’s not a business for kids. With all money in professional sports today, it is hard for parents to understand that it’s just good fun to young athletes. The primary goal should be to have fun and enjoy healthy competition.
2.Your own agenda is not your child’s. Young athletes compete in sports for many reasons. They enjoy competition, like social aspect, engage with being part of a team, and enjoy challenge of setting goals. You might have a different agenda than your child and you need to recognize that racing is your child’s sport, not yours.
3.Emphasize a mental focus on process of execution instead of results or trophies. We live in a society that focuses on results and winning, but winning come from working process and enjoying ride. Teach your child to focus on process of challenge of playing one shot, stroke, or race at a time instead of number of wins or trophies.
