November 04, 2021 | Tagged Parenting,
How to be Your Child's Biggest Supporter in Volleyball
As parents, we love to see our children excel in sports. Volleyball aspirations are no exception. Parents can become more devasted about a child leaving a sport than the child.
When a child grows up playing sports, the two biggest influences in whether they continue to play past middle school or high school are coaches and parents. Now if a child has a bad experience with a coach, the player typically switches to another team with a better coach. A child can’t do that with a parent(s).
To make sure a child and the parents get the most out of a sport, parents must take a step back and let the child decide where they want to play and what they want to play. Granted, if a child is young, this is the best time for a parent to take the wheel and help kick start a potential sports career. But, as that child grows up and starts developing the ability to form opinions, discovering what they like and don’t like, and what feels best for them, the most important thing a parent should do is be a guide, not the navigator.
A child must create their own destiny and future, it cannot be the parents who do it for them. To prevent this from happening, a parent must trust the child and the coach. Yes, the parent can still have an opinion, but the child must figure out what is best for them. Having trust will not only keep a child and parent’s bond strong but will help the child keep the love of the game.
There is a time and place for a parent to push their child to be the best they can be, but it is adolescence is difficult with the challenge of constantly changing/developing both mentally and physically. Navigating adolescence can become even harder transitioning into an athlete.
As your child becomes a more serious athlete, recognize the boundary between a coach’s position and a parent’s position.
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