I often encounter kids that play baseball because their parents want them to. I can tell their heart is not in it and are only playing to please their parent. This is unfortunate at times, especially when the parent gets upset with the childs attitude. The problem is that parents may have waited too long to help the child develop a serious interest in that activity.
There is a reason children of professional and Olympic athletes follow in their parents footsteps. Kids of pro athletes grow up around the fields and locker rooms of theit sports playing parents. The point is that it is the personal experiences of being there that develops a love for the sport. It didn’t come from the kids watching the sport on TV or from playing the video game of the sport.

     You never know for sure when a kid develops a love for something but it can be sparked by a very simple event. I believe I can trace my son’s  love of baseball to age 3, when he hopped in a battting cage at my sports academy and was able to hit the ball from the pitching machine.
     Parents that want their kids to develop a love for a particular sport should attend games of that sport with their child from a young age. Seeing and feeling the electric and fun atmosphere of physically being at the games as often as possible may create the spark that develops the love of sport in the child. Of course, this does not have to be a professional game, but even a high school, college or sibling game of the sport. You never know when the spark will develop in your child and it cannot be forced on them later in life.

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Love of Sport

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ZEAL – Finally made it to the end of the alphabet. A synonym for zeal is enthusiasm and we all agree that enthuiasm form parents and coaches is necessary if they want their kids to enjoy sports. It is one of the key ingredients in developing love of the game in kids and a key for having fun for all. The problem comes in when we add the word over before zeal. Overzealous parents and coaches often take the fun out of sports for many, especially for young athletes. Signs of over-enthusiasm include bragging incessantly about one’s kids sporting activities, placing too much emophasis on a child’s games or development and giving false praise to kids. All of these signs of over-zealousness and usually this over emphasis is setting athletes and their parents up for a big letdown at some point in their athletic future. Zeal is great but over doing it will almost always lead to burn out.

Post from: Positive Parenting in Sports - Raising an Athlete

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Variety,Victory,Voice,View -

There is no one word that sticks out when thinking of the letter V so I will mention some thoughts that apply to some V words that apply to sports.
 Variety – It is important that coaches and parents provide a variety of options to their kids at younger ages so that one

activity does not get boring or seem too important. Creating a love of sport and and fun in sports is dependent on a wide variety of teaching methods. As kids age, they will begin to sort out which activities they enjoy the most.
Victory – Another word for winning, and how coaches and parents deal with winning and losing is vital for kids devlopment in not only sports but life also. teaching kids how to accept defeat and at the same time how to be gracious victors is important.
Voice – The tenor of the voice that parents use when talking to their kids determines their kids attitude toward an activity. Teaching sports with a unemotional voice is vital so that excess pressure is not exerted on thier kids. Learning to teach with a matter of fact voice is good and not a pleading voice is the key.
View – This was talked about when discussing perspective but being able to view a players career with perspective (as from a distant view) allows parents to make good decisions for their kids.

Post from: Positive Parenting in Sports - Raising an Athlete

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