Hey Parents.....Your Kid Isn’t That Good
Now that I have your attention…
By Colin Young
Now that I have your attention, I must qualify that it is not the child's fault that he might not be that good at (enter sport). It just might have everything to do with you.
I have been coaching select baseball for
about 2 ½ years now and I am finding
some disturbing trends among parents and
their relationships with their children. I
have found that (a) parents exponentially
over value the talent of their child,
(b) cannot separate the emotions they feel
during the game with that of their child's,
(c) find it necessary to inject their opinions
and/or suggestions for the team because
they pay money to be part of the organization, (d) severely hinder and stunt their child's progress and passion for the sport they play.
Here are my suggestions and solutions to what I've described above, and in the end, I will explain to why these are necessary in order for your child to love to play the sport he or she is involved in and hopefully they won't hate you by the time they are 16 years of age.
1. Your child will only go as far as they love what they do
This not only applies to sports but life in general. Support what they love and are interested in, not what you think they should be involved in. You had a childhood now let your kid have theirs.
2. You weren't that good of a player (i.e. high school sports)
Most parents have an idea that they excelled in the sport they competed in high school. However, hindsight is 20/20. In the grand scheme of things you really weren't that great so stop telling your kid you were. They don't need to live up to your exaggerations.
3. Leave your child alone during competition
Your child is out on the field competing and does not need any added pressure
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