How to Choose The Right Coach For Your Sports Kid
As sports parents, one of the most important things you’ll do is choose a coach for your sports kids.
You might have signed up your young athletes for teams their best friends are on. And you probably don’t have many choices in coaches.
But the truth is, coaches have a huge impact on young athletes’ confidence.
If you have choices in coaches, you should be sure to choose carefully.
If you don’t have choices, you need to keep an eye on your kids’ sports experience and make sure sports is building their confidence, not busting it.
“Coaches really have the strongest parental influence on kids’ beliefs than anyone else,” says Kevin MacCauley, founder of BookACoach, which provides private coaches for kids nationwide. “It’s amazing the impact coaches can have on athletes.”
Most important, he says, is to ensure that pressure from a coach isn’t burning your kids out. Be sure they’re having fun.
At Kids’ Sports Psychology, we agree. Keep in mind that more than 75 percent of young athletes drop out of sports by the time they are 13 because they’re not having fun anymore.
“Too often, coaches are too aggressive and push kids too hard,” says MacCauley.
On the other hand, good coaches do a good job of helping kids bounce back after mistakes and believe in their abilities.
They also need to help kids take a step back and identify what they’re doing wrong so they can understand their mistakes and learn from them, he says.
We’d like to add that it’s important for sports parents to interview coaches, if possible, before enrolling their kids on a team. It’s also important to watch the coach in action.
At Kids’ Sports Psychology, we have more tips for finding the best coaches, ensuring your kids are having fun, and ensuring kids are getting the most out of their sports experience. For example, exclusive members of Kids’ Sports Psychology can listen to our interview with MacCauley here:
Full Interview with Kevin MacCauley – Members Only!
You’ll also find ebooks, videos, expert interviews, question-and-answers and much more!
What are people saying about our resources?
“Kids’ Sports Psychology is a great web site by the way. One of the best web sites I’ve been on. It’s really, really helpful.”
~Gavin Clark, PGA, England
Help your young athletes have fun and build confidence in sports!
www.KidsSportsPsychology.com
P.S. You can listen to what MacCauley has to say about the importance of coaches here, if you’re an exclusive member of Kids’ Sports Psychology:
Listen To the Full Interview with Kevin MacCauley
Related Articles on Youth Sports:
- How Youth Sports Coaches Can Build Resilience in Kids
- Boosting Athletes’ Confidence with Life Skills Lessons
- Coaches: Ensure Kids Love their Sport
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