Communicating With Young Athletes
Sports parents and coaches, you need to be more aware of how you communicate with your young athletes through body language.
That’s the message from Dr. Monika Schloder, a sports consultant who was trained in sports pedagogy, is the recipient of 14 international coaching and teaching awards and was Alberta 2008 Coach of the year.
Nearly 93% of how you communicate with your young athletes is based on body language, she says. “Athletes look at parents’ facial expressions; that says more than words,” she says.
For example, the first thing young swimmers do after competing is look up into the stands at their parents’ faces, she says. Too often, parents’ give the kids a thumbs’ up or a thumbs’ down sign, which stresses the need to win, she says.
Here at Kids’ Sports Psychology, we agree that how you communicate non-verbally with your sports kids is critical.
So often, after making a good play (or making a mistake), kids look directly at their parents’ faces. What they see on those faces will either boost their confidence or tear it down.
To help kids feel more confident, be sure to smile when they look at you. Watch what you do with your arms and hands, Schloder adds.
Often, coaches are hugging their coffee mugs–suggesting they’re having a hard time waking up and aren’t really ready to pay attention.
In addition, if your arms are tightly wrapped in front of your chest, you’re suggesting that you’re not relaxed.
If you throw your hands up in disgust after your child makes a mistake, your children will likely get the message that you’re not happy. This distracts kids and makes them fearful of making more mistakes.
As we’ve mentioned before, the Positive Coaching Alliance suggests that parents give kids a “flushing” sign with their hands after their kids make mistakes. This tells them to flush away the mistake and move on.
Related Articles on Youth Sports:
- The Power of Empathy in Youth Sports
- Tips for Sports Kids With Focusing Challenges like ADHD
- Sports Parents: How Do You React After a Game?
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