Parents of young athletes play a vital role in their children’s development in a sport. While most parents do an excellent job supporting their child athlete, some parents struggle in their efforts to positively influence their children in the sporting environment. Well-intentioned, much of the time, some of their methods employ over-questioning, critical comments and unrealistic demands toward their children and from their coach. The situations that many young soccer athletes deal with before, during and after games and training sessions could bring a grown adult to tears. The links below are designed to help parents understand the rules of the our Club, the rules of the game, and general information to help make their child's soccer experience a positive one. Let's do our part to make it enjoyable for the children!
Ten Family Characteristics That Nurture Smart
Kids,
http://www.dummies.com/WileyCDA/DummiesArticle/id-1947.html
Top 10 Rules
of Parental Behavior at their Kids' Games,
http://www.sportsparenting.org/csp/csp_rules.cfm
10 Ways to Know That You Are Too Wrapped Up in Your Child's Sport?http://www.njyouthsoccer.com/CoachingTechniques/TenWays.htm
Parent
Quiz
http://www.usyouthsoccer.org/index.php?&change_well_id=88&url_channel_id=4
Soccer
Poem
Attached is a file that has an
excellent poem about youth soccer.
We encourage you to take the time to
download and read it.
Keys to Peak Parental Performance
Reacting to your child's performance
Job Description for
Parents
Author Unknown
Thought those of you considering the new job of parent might want to take a look at the requirements first.
POSITION : Parent
JOB DESCRIPTION :
Long-term player needed for challenging, permanent work in chaotic
environment. Candidates must possess excellent communication and organizational
skills and be willing to work evenings, weekends, and frequent 24-hour shifts.
There is some overnight travel required, including trips to primitive camping
sites on rainy weekends and endless sports tournaments in far-away cities.
Travel expenses not reimbursed.
RESPONSIBILITIES : Must
keep this job for the rest of your life. Must be willing to be hated, at least
temporarily. Must be willing to bite tongue repeatedly. Must possess the
physical stamina of a pack mule. Must be willing to tackle stimulating technical
challenges such as small gadget repair, sluggish toilets, and stuck zippers.
Must handle assembly and product safety testing, as well as floor maintenance
and janitorial work. Must screen phone calls, maintain calendars, and coordinate
production of multiple homework projects. Must have ability to plan and organize
social gatherings for clients of all ages and levels of mentality. Must be
willing to be indispensable one minute and an embarrassment the next. Must
assume final, complete accountability for the quality of end product.
ADVANCEMENT AND PROMOTION : There is no possibility of
either. Your job is to remain in the same position for years, without
complaining, constantly retraining and updating your skills so that those in
your charge can ultimately surpass you.
PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE :
None required, but on-the-job training is offered on a continually
exhausting basis.
WAGES : None. In fact, you must pay those
in your charge, offering frequent raises and bonuses. A balloon payment is due
when they turn 18 and attend college. When you die, you give them whatever
income you have left.
BENEFITS : There is no health nor
dental insurance, no pension, no tuition reimbursement, no paid holidays, and no
stock options. However, the job offers limitless opportunities for personal
growth and free hugs for life.
Keys to Peak Parental Performance
Youth soccer clubs are always seeking ways to rein in parental enthusiasm without dampening it. The Stone Mountain (Ga.) Youth Soccer Association recently distributed a clear, concise set of standards addressing that delicate balance:
Article courtesy of Soccer America's Youth Soccer Letter and editor Dan Woog.
Taking the fun out of
play
Jonathan H. Buzby
Like a lot of youth sports parents I find myself trying to coach
my child while we're playing in the backyard. I try to work on technique. He
just wants to have fun. I get stressed out when he doesn't want to listen. He
gets upset when I won't stop coaching.
Children need to play and it needs to
be fun. If it's not fun they will lose interest. Playing is important at any
age. How many of us would play the recreational sports we do (golf, tennis,
etc.) if every time we swung the club or racquet someone was correcting our
technique.
When your child is not at practice let him/her dictate how to
spend time playing (as long as it's safe). I asked my son why he plays
basketball at recess everyday since it's a sport he does not play in a formal
league. His response was, "Because it's fun." At recess there are no coaches, no
parents, no officials and no pressure. Kids can make up the teams and the rules
to make sure they have fun. The same should happen at home.
If you're
wondering why all of a sudden your child does not want to play soccer with you,
think back to the last few times you were outside playing together. Did you
spend more time coaching than just being a parent? Did you dictate what the two
of you would play and how it should be played? If so, you may have taken the fun
out of your child's play.
Next time you go outside to play with your child,
try to make an honest effort to let your child decide what you'll play and what
the rules will be. Don't correct, explain or demonstrate unless you're asked.
You might be surprised how much fun you'll have together.
Article contributed by Coaching Youth Sports, an online newsletter presenting information about learning and performing sport skills.
Header: To hit the ball with the head.
Breakaway: When an attacker has the ball with nothing but
green acreage between him/her and the goalie.
Marking:
Covering a player so as to steal the ball when it is kicked to him/her.
Clearing kick : A defensive kick that puts the ball out of
the defenders' half of the field.
Centering kick : A kick
from the sides to the middle, so as to take a shot with the foot or the head at
goal.
Off-the-ball : What happens away from where the ball
is, i.e., moving into a position to take a pass.
Trapping :
Stopping the ball with your foot. Also, catching an attacker
off-sides.
Chip-pass : A swift, usually short pass that
goes over a defender's head.
Dribbling : What most parents
do with their drinks when their kids get near the goal with the ball. No,
really: Running downfield with the ball at your feet.
Linesman :
The assistant referee with the flag who tells the referee when the ball
is out of play or when an attacker is off-sides.
Referee :
The sole judge of fact, law and time. Don't argue with the
refs, because they cannot reverse their decisions.
Reacting to your
child's performance
Richard K. Stratton
As part of your child's sports environment. you are expected to be a source
of feedback about their performance. You need to be sensitive to this role. When
your son or daughter first started participating in this sport, you probably
discussed with them some of your expectations about their performances.
Depending on how much you know about the sport, it might have been something as
simple as "We just expect you to try hard and do your best" or it may have been
much more specific and detailed. Now that your child is performing it is
important that your reactions to their performances are built around the
framework of the previously discussed set of expectations. Be prepared to react
to both good and poor performances. As was discussed in the feature article in
this issue, feedback is used for three purposes: error correction, motivation,
and reinforcement. You should be especially aware of opportunities to provide
motivation and/or reinforcement. Team environments often tend to utilize
feedback only for error identification and error correction purposes, sometimes
causing in athlete to develop feelings of frustration or a feeling that they are
not doing anything right. This focus on mistakes/errors in sports is a universal
problem. I even heard a television sports commentator recently lament the
negative tone of most sportscasts and the frequent failure to comment on
positive plays when they occur.
We must convince ourselves
and our children that mistakes are a natural part of sports, and most activities
in life, for that matter. While it is true that athletes should strive to reduce
the mistakes they make, they will never totally eliminate them. Perfection
rarely occurs in sports. Even the very best athletes, the professional athletes
and Olympic level athletes make mistakes. Consider how rare the "Perfect Game"
is in baseball. For that matter, consider how rare an error-free game is. In one
of the recent major league baseball all-star games, the best players in baseball
made 5 errors! We certainly should never expect children in youth sports to play
without making mistakes. It is important that they understand this and set
realistic performance expectations for themselves. Accentuate the positive!
Article contributed by Coaching Youth Sports, an online newsletter presenting information about learning and performing sport skills
Download a copy of the Sportsmanship Pledge
"S.A.G.E." (PDF file). A contract between the Player, Parents and
Coaches.
Click the link and follow the directions to
complete a medical claim for any player injured at a Lacey Soccer Club event.
Medical Claim
Procedure