How Coaches Influence Parents And Athletes
A coach asks:
“How does a coach influence the parents and players to be committed to a process that requires investment in effort, time and money before results are ‘seen’?”
Good question… In our fast-paced lives, kids and parents often expect results right away and are impatient to wait for them.
We suggest that coaches begin with good communication.
Start the season with a meeting with parents and sports kids. At the meeting, coaches should explain their goals and objectives for the season. They should also inquire about parents’ goals for their kids.
Coaches should discuss the mental game challenges associated with high expectations and demanding their kids be stars.
High Expectations Often Backfire.
When kids feel pressured to meet expectations such as, “I’m going to be the highest scorer on the team this season,” or, “I’m not going to commit any turnovers,” or, “I want my team to go to the state championships,” they feel pressure to perform.
When kids pressure themselves and don’t meet their high expectations, they get frustrated, their confidence sinks and they don’t perform well.
Here’s a Better Focus:
- Having fun
- Mastering skills
- Feeling like kids are part of a tight-knit, supportive team
Coaches can establish this focus by creating a warm, fun and inclusive culture. That means focusing on skill development and master rather than on results such as the score or win.
Kids should be rewarded for meeting small, process-oriented goals. Those might include being good team players, or communicating well with teammates, or improving their defensive game.
When kids are having fun and learning with a coach who creates this kind of culture, the kids will be happy and most likely, the parents will be, too.
They’ll focus less on seeing results and more on the all-important process.
Related Articles on Youth Sports:
- Building Confidence With Supportive Communication
- Why Communication is More Important for Athletes
- Communication to Build kids’ Confidence [Podcast]
*Subscribe to The Sports Psychology Podcast on iTunes
*Subscribe to The Sports Psychology Podcast on Spotify
Help Young Athletes Boost Confidence in Sports!
Every day, we receive letters from parents like you who want their children and teens to excel in sports. However, these parents can see fear, doubt, and frustration on the faces of their kids who struggle with the “inner” game of sports. But these parents have no idea how to help their kids overcome the worries, expectations and self-defeating thoughts that prevent their young athletes from feeling confident and successful.
You can benefit from our 15-plus years’ of work in sports psychology and sports parenting research. Now, you can tap into our secrets to sports success through a cutting-edge, 14-day program that helps young athletes overcome the top “mental game” challenges that sports parents face—and the top challenges young athletes face.