4 Things to Try When Players Want to Quit a Sport – Effective Parenting
It is never good to force young athletes to continue playing a sport when they feel as though they don’t want to or for them to continue only because you, the parent, wants them to continue. However, it never hurts to try a few last ditch effective parenting efforts to see if their decision will change.
1. See if they might attend an offseason, quality camp – a good program will stress instruction and fun, which are the keys for youth sports.
2. Look for a great, respected coach in the area – this can revitalize a players interest.
3. Tell young player to wait till the following season to decide – time away often allows kids the opportunity to realize that they will miss playing.
4. See if athlete is willing to work with a professional coach for a spell before the next season. Knowledge learned along with confidence gained can turn attitude around. Good fundamental coaches should provide this knowledge and confidence.

Post from: Positive Parenting in Sports - Raising an Athlete

Positive Sports Tip of the Day

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Keeping an Even Keel
Athletes need to have short memories because failure is a huge part of sports. Kids that are hard on themselves at a young age often will not survive sports as they reach more advanced levels. It is important that parents and coaches try to keep players on as even a keel as possible when young. Learning to treat every performance separate from the previous one and learning to handle adversity are keys to long term playing careers.

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Positive Sports Tip of the Day

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Image via Wikipedia

Definition of Success
From a young age, parents should define success to kids as working hard and doing one’s best, period. Win or lose, good performance or bad, when athletes work hard and do their best, they should be made to feel they are a success.

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Expect Success
Recently, I wrote that coaches (parents) cannot give athletes confidence because youth athletes can only attain it on their own. That is not meant to say that adults cannot help players find confidence. Some measure of athletic success is usually necessary for an athlete to gain confidence and athletes must be ready mentally to have that success. A common statement I say to my students are, “Expect success.”  This positive statement helps  youth athletes get beyond the “hoping for success” stage into the “expecting to do well” mentality, which is necessary to becoming confident athletes.

Post from: Positive Parenting in Sports - Raising an Athlete

Positive Sports Tip Of the Day

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Optimism
In my last post I mentioned that one cannot simply give young athletes confidence but they can give them hope. In my book Raising an Athlete I write a great deal about how athletes confidence comes and goes but good coaches are continually trying to develop optimistic kids. Good coaches and parents have a knack for keeping sports success and failure in perspective so that, whether kids have success or not, they feel good about themselves. Parents and coaches can achieve this optimistic attitude by stressing effort over results, and keeping expectations realistic. “You will get em next time” is one of the best things a coach can say to a young player.

Post from: Positive Parenting in Sports - Raising an Athlete

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Parents should not underestimate the influence that their child’s coach have on them There is no better motivator for a youth athlete than playing for a coach who is caring, inspiring and knowledgeable. Finding this type coach at the youth level can be difficult too and is often just the luck of the draw in leagues where players are picked in a draft type situation. As players move up the sports ladder though, parents can look for these type coaches at the travel and high school levels. Finding theses coaches can be well worth the effort though, even if that means moving to a better school, because a great coach can be a positive influence for the rest of their kids lives.

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Parents don’t have to give a big speech to inspire their kids and giving one is one of the best ways to alienate kids anyway. Giving short inpirational messages though at the appropriate time is “priceless” as the saying goes. Kids in sports and life encounter many situations that can disappoint and discourage them so providing little inpirational words can help them deal with those situations.
    Just recently, I had to throw the famous saying “Where there’s a will there’s a way” at one of my kids after they had to maneuver to get through a tough situation. Looking up inspirational quotes, or making some up yourself is suggested for parents to be ready for times when their athletes have to overcome adversity. Some of my favorites include “no fear,” “negativity rarely if ever helps” and “you will get through this and be stronger for it.” Once again, they are not totally original but come in handy for youth sports. 

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Providing Inspiration

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Parents often become concerned because their kids come home from practice and don’t appear very enthusiastic. “It was so boring,” is a common response. What to do? Good coaches know what to do – everything in sports require players learning how to do things quicker and faster. With this in mind, good coaches turn their practice drills into competitions for kids. I just finished up a baseball camp – after the first day of camp or at the start of practice the next day, kids would ask me if we could do a certain competition that we had done before. Coach can we do the “such and such” drill? That is a good feeling for a coach when athletes become enthused about doing certain drills or having competetive contests. Coaches should always have a watch or stopwatch available so they can turn any drill into a competition – for example, most throws completed in one minute or most free throws made in two minutes are examples.
    Coaches should teach correct fundamentals and then make things more exciting for kids by adding contests and competitions – athletes love to compete.

Post from: Positive Parenting in Sports - Raising an Athlete

Making Sports Fun by Jack Perconte

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Keys to Success

Following are parenting tips to help bring out the best in athletes and to guarantee athletic success.
1. Begin working on skills at least 6 weeks before the start of practice and gradually increase the work load each week leading up to the season.
2. Begin teaching basic fundamentals at a young age without being overbearing with instruction, of course.
3. Use good training aids when affordable and available. For example, using and stressing the use of a batting tee to hitters of every age can make all the difference.
4. Learn as many quality drills as possible and perform them correctly, especially drills that address the player’s biggest faults. When a drill is good it will force a player to do a skill more efficiently.
5. Use practice time like a golfer uses the driving range – before games for getting loose and for developing grooved actions and after games for making adjustments.

Post from: Positive Parenting in Sports - Raising an Athlete

5 Keys to Success in Sports

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Sports Coaching

Understanding - ”I understand that just because a skill is easy for me or appears easy from the sidelines, does not mean it is easy for everyone.” ” I play to win, with the understanding that player development and fun are of equal importance.” “I do my best to understand each player’s personality so I can determine how to make them feel good about themselves and their play.”

These are some quotes from my latest book and show the importance of the word beginning with the letter U.
In “Rasing an Athlete” I have a coach’s quiz to see where coaches rank on a effective coaching scale. There are 50 questions asked with some valued higher than others. The intent is not really to evaluate coaches but to give people an understanding of how many ingredients go into making a great coach. Parents of athletes should not expect their volunteer coaches to rank super high on the quiz because they don’t have the experience, training and time to devote to being a great coach. Most great coaches are found at the collegiate and pro levels, with some at the high school level and even fewer at the youth level. However, this is not to say that there are not some very good youth level coaches because there are. Also, the good news is that coaches can and do improve over time with this often being a trial and error process to bring out the best in young players.

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ABC’s of Positive Parenting in Sports Coaching – U

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Sports Coaching Tips

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ABC’s of Positive Parenting in Sports – R

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Coaching Youth Sports

Quit - An obvious word when it comes to the letter Q is the word quit.  One of the great things about youth sports coaching and life lessons that parents and coaches can teach youth is the idea that one should never give up in competition and in their pursuit of their goals. This obviously good advice but unfortunately reality gets in the way, especially when it comes to quitting a sport. The time comes for all athletes to have to decide whether it is time to stop playing. I always tell athletes that the decision to stop playing should be their decision and not their parents or their coaches. It is good to get their parents and coaches advice but ultimately the decision should be the players. The key ingredient to give up playing or not is the fun factor. If an athlete still enjoys playing, they should look for any and all opportunities to keep playing. This may mean finding a different team, league, level – usually an alternative is available. A never quit attitude on and off the field is a key to athletic success and an admired trait in sports to develop. A never giv up attitude will lead to few regrets later in life and to success in many fields of pursuit.

Post from: Positive Parenting in Sports - Raising an Athlete

ABC’s of Positive Parenting in Sports – Q

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Sports Coaching Book

Hope – This is one of my favorite concepts that is so important in youth sports. It is so important because it is something concrete that parents and coaches can give kids that can make all the difference. You see, another person cannot give a player confidence for that is something they must attain on their own.  But, hope is something that can be given to athletes. Remaining positive with athletes when they struggle and providing helpful fundamental knowledge at the appropriate time gives players hope that they can do better the next time. As long as a player has hope, they usually will want to keep playing and look forward to practice and playing games. Positive words of encouragement before and after games are of course helpful, but  the most helpful advice is generally some solid fundamental tip that will make the player realize that they can perform well if they do the fundamentals correctly. A player feels hopeful when it is their fundamentals that need improving as opposed to thinking that it is “in their head” as to the reason they are not playing well. Do not overwhelm players with instruction but give hope whenever possible with a little tip.

Post from: Positive Parenting in Sports - Raising an Athlete

ABC’s of Positive Parenting in Sports – H

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Jack Perconte Sports Coaching Tips

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ABC’s of Positive Parenting in Sports – G

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Coaching Youth Sports Positively

Confidence  – Nowhere is confidence more important than on the playing fields of sport. Without confidence, players often lose their desire to keep playing, and at the very least they tend to play scared. Some players are naturally more confident than others, but confidence can be gained over time. Gaining confidence almost always is related to success. This is where things get tricky sometimes and where parents and coaches are vital to helping young athletes with their development. How parents and coaches define success and being able to relate that definition and help kids believe the definition is the key. I tell kids the definition of success is when they give as close to 100% as possible to whatever they put their mind and physical effort to. Not every child is blessed with the same degree of athletice talent or athletic instincts, but those that make the most of what they are given are a success. With this definition ingrained in young players, you will begin to see confident players and kids no matter the statistical outcome of their games. In my book, Raising an Athlete, I devote a great deal of time giving coaches and parents the words, phrases and gestures that help develop not only confident players on the field but , more importantly, optimistic kids for their futures.

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ABC’s of Positive Parenting in Sports – C

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