Tips for Soccer parents to remember from a Pastor
Picked up my daughter from school today and after getting a bite to eat went to Target to get her first soccer ball. She has been wanting to play soccer for a while now, so just to get her started I thought we would get a ball and go to the rec center to kick it around a bit.
Soccer was never my sport growing up and my knowledge of it is very limited, but with that being said my daughter is awesome at soccer. She was diving to block my kicks and nailing her kicks into the corners of the goal. So this could be her thing and I need to get ready. I have heard some stories of crazy soccer parents and I don't want to become one. So if you are a soccer novice like me but you have a young soccer player you are going to be watching here are some tips from Bruce Reyes-Chow a Presbyterian Minister, Father of 3 girls and all round soccer dad.
1-It's just a game - He writes about how 10 minutes after losing a game his daughter was making plans to bake cookies later, but he was still upset. His daughter lost, but his daughter moved on because, "it's just a game."
2-You're not the coach - "It is important in team sports for the players to develop trust in their coach, for the coach to instill big-picture strategies and not have to deal with parents who can make matters more confusing. Parents can work on skills at home, help the kids process winning and losing and support the coach, but unless you really ARE the coach, you are NOT the coach."
3-Competition can be healthy - "Sports are a great way to develop discipline, character and commitment, but competition taken too far, can lead to an attitude that everything is a competition, everyone is someone to be beat and worth is based on winning and losing."
4-"Taking a knee" is important- "Whenever a player on either team is hurt, our girls place one knee on the ground and wait until the player is back up before clapping for them. This show of courtesy and sports[wo]manship is a crucial part of life and sports. No level of competition takes precedent over the health and well-being of another person."
5-This should be fun- "Yes, we all want our kids to thrive and sometimes they do need to be challenged to keep moving forward, but knowing the difference between parenting that sucks the joy from an activity, and parenting that helps them improve in ways to unlock new experiences is crucial."
Soccer was never my sport growing up and my knowledge of it is very limited, but with that being said my daughter is awesome at soccer. She was diving to block my kicks and nailing her kicks into the corners of the goal. So this could be her thing and I need to get ready. I have heard some stories of crazy soccer parents and I don't want to become one. So if you are a soccer novice like me but you have a young soccer player you are going to be watching here are some tips from Bruce Reyes-Chow a Presbyterian Minister, Father of 3 girls and all round soccer dad.
1-It's just a game - He writes about how 10 minutes after losing a game his daughter was making plans to bake cookies later, but he was still upset. His daughter lost, but his daughter moved on because, "it's just a game."
2-You're not the coach - "It is important in team sports for the players to develop trust in their coach, for the coach to instill big-picture strategies and not have to deal with parents who can make matters more confusing. Parents can work on skills at home, help the kids process winning and losing and support the coach, but unless you really ARE the coach, you are NOT the coach."
3-Competition can be healthy - "Sports are a great way to develop discipline, character and commitment, but competition taken too far, can lead to an attitude that everything is a competition, everyone is someone to be beat and worth is based on winning and losing."
4-"Taking a knee" is important- "Whenever a player on either team is hurt, our girls place one knee on the ground and wait until the player is back up before clapping for them. This show of courtesy and sports[wo]manship is a crucial part of life and sports. No level of competition takes precedent over the health and well-being of another person."
5-This should be fun- "Yes, we all want our kids to thrive and sometimes they do need to be challenged to keep moving forward, but knowing the difference between parenting that sucks the joy from an activity, and parenting that helps them improve in ways to unlock new experiences is crucial."
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