What factors might lead young athletes to drop out? First of all, they might be playing for the wrong reasons because a parent or coach wants them to play. Ultimately, playing to make someone else happy doesn’t make the athlete happy.
Second, they may feel too much pressure to perform. When kids feel too much pressure, they often under-perform. Their confidence and happiness may sink.
Third, peers, parents and coaches may expect too much of young athletes especially talented athletes. High expectations can undermine athletes’ confidence and happiness.
To ensure your young athletes continue to enjoy sports, make sure they’re playing because they want to play. Let your young athletes lead you. If all they want to do is play recreationally, let them do just that.
Don’t push them to try out for higher levels of competition if they’re mostly interested in playing for fun with friends. If you push them, your efforts may backfire and your kids may drop out of sports. Kids sometimes thrive when they can develop confidence at lower levels.
In addition, don’t focus too much on winning. Winning may be fun for parents. But it’s not always what’s most fun for kids. Keep the long-term benefits of sports participation in mind. By taking part in athletics, kids learn important life skills such as sportsmanship, teamwork, and coping with adversity. They also stay fit and healthy.
Check your own motivations. Do you want your kids to play sports to win scholarships or to succeed in ways that you failed to succeed? Don’t assume your athletes have the same goals or motivations that you have about sports.
Be a good cheerleader. Be positive and supportive of your young athletes’ team and coaches. Find ways to help out the team. You can be a team parent or sign up to bring snacks, for example. While you’re being supportive, be sure to keep your own coaching to a minimum. Leave the coaching to the coach.
Want to learn more about how to ensure kids stay in the game for as long as possible? Check out our Ultimate Sports Parent workbook and CD program. Nearly every section gives you important tips about how to ensure your kids enjoy sports for now and many years to come. Specifically, the workbook/CD program addresses:
- How to communicate with your young athletes
- How to help your athletes establish appropriate goals
- Providing positive motivation for your athletes
- How to instill a confident mindset in your sports kids
- Helping kids deal with competitive pressure
- Providing kids with positive support after defeat
- And much more!
Hop over to our web site to learn more how to help sports kids improve confidence and success!
Sincerely,
Patrick Cohn, Ph.D., Mental Training Expert
P.S. The Ultimate Sports Parent workbook program comes with a neat
bonus that helps parents act and say the right things before a game or
competition: