“That” Parent
“PLEASE REMEMBER…
1) These are KIDS
2) This is a GAME
3) The coaches are VOLUNTEERS
4) The officials are HUMAN
5) THIS IS NOT THE PROFFESIONAL LEAGUE!”
~Unknown
I think all of us at one time or another have been to a little league game of some sport or another and have heard the rantings and railings of a parent or two who really did think that their son/daughter was part of a million dollar contract at the professional level and was being cheated by the people who volunteered as coaches and officials. Yelling at the top of their lungs at the refs, the coaches, their kids to do whatever they want in order to win the game, yelling obscenities at the top of their lungs that would make a sailor blush…parents who in short demonstrate the poorest form of sportsmanship to everyone including their kids. As a fan of athletics and a parent of kids involved with amateur sports (7 & 10 year old soccer players) I am painfully aware of “that” parent who seems to show up no matter what sporting event there is. This time of year, many parents have children playing organized sports at all ages and at all different levels of competition.
Athletic are designed to be healthy for kids in as such as it teaches them many life skills like cooperation, how to deal with adversity, it helps to develop self-confidence and it also teaches kids how to win as well as how to lose. Playing a team sport teaches kids so much more than a video game could ever hope to do and in order for a child to take in these important life lessons they must have a “coachable” attitude sometimes called a willingness to learn or a teachable frame of mind. And this is usually where “that” parent starts to foul the process up for not only their child but it affects the entire team. Some issues of being that parent are represented in a great article from the Wall Street Journal, The Best Way to Cheer for Your Child, “Children often connect parents’ attitude about their sports performance to their value as a person…Criticizing a child’s teammate suggests it is OK for a child to dump on teammates too…Parents who react by coaching from the sidelines only confuse their children…The goal is to develop better athletes and better people, and trying to win is part of that, if your definition of success is that your kid’s team wins and your kid plays fantastically, you’re going to be disappointed a lot of the time.”
Some positive ways to avoid being the parent who embarrasses your child in youth athletics are as follows:
1) Use Positive Encouragement: Cheer for the whole team, not just your child. And if the other team made a great play, acknowledge it. What better way to exemplify sportsmanship than to acknowledge the athleticism of all players?
2) Support the Coach: Attend parent meetings, read the rulebook, have your child arrive to practice on time, and pick your child up on time.
3) Do Not Undermine the Coach: When your child is playing, whether it is at a practice or at a game, let the coach do his or her job…and most times, the coaches are volunteers, keep that in mind.
4) Teach and Model Good Sportsmanship and Behavior: What we say and what we do is directly reflected back to us in the behaviors of the players on the field and on the bench.
Sometimes it’s hard, but as a parent I know that the greatest benefit I can give my kids on the playing field is my unconditional support for them, their team and their coaches. The best part for me is to watch the pure joy of playing on kid’s face…they really enjoy what they are doing…they’re having fun and isn’t that what youth athletics is all about in the end? Thanks for reading as always, I hope everyone has a great weekend and if you have any questions or comments, please shoot me an email. Take care of yourself and each other, remember, we’re all in this together.
Wm Reid
Best Home Care Services
325 N Eastern Ave
Connersville, IN 47331
765-827-9833
wmreid@bhcshealth.com