Positive Parenting in Sports by Former Major Leaguer Jack Perconte

Coaching Youth Sports

Trust -

The obvious word that comes to the sports mind with the letter T is Talent. Talent is a combination of God-given athleticism and some develped skills and generally manifests itself at a young age in kids. The word that I want to talk about is trust because this is an extrememly important concept when parents and coaches work with athletes. Trust is something that people earn over time and is vital in keeping a good coach/student relationship. It is especially difficult to work with one’s own child and developing extreme patience is necessary. Following are some things to additionally consider in developing an athletes trust in you, the coach.

* Study up or be quiet – kids generally can recognize when someone does not know what they are talking about. This recognition is easy for kids when their coach tells them to to something one way and their parent tells them something different. Have the evidence on your side by doing some reseach if needed and don’t demonstrate something if you are not very good at it. It is hard to trust someone that looks awkward doing it themselves.

* Give kids a little time to fail before correcting them. When someone expects perfection too soon they will get defensive and may want to quit practicing.

* Say a positive before a negative – “I liked the way you did that, next time try this also,” for example.

*Address the action as much as possible – that swing, throw catch,kick – instead of “you” did this wrong.

* The tenor of the voice used is the key – saying things in an informative, non-emotional voice will go along way to gain trust as opposed to a “listen to me or else” voice. If you notice your son or daughter gets upset when you tell them how to do something then you are probably saying things in an accusing voice.

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