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                                                                                 Sideout Volleyball  Club
                                                                                         Sport Parenting 101

 

Why do we pay so much money for our kids to do all their sports?

I have a confession to make; I don’t pay for my kids to do sports. Personally, I couldn’t care less about what sport they do.  So, if I am not paying for sports what am I paying for?

 

- I pay for those moments when my kids become so tired they want to quit but don’t.

- I pay for those days when my kids come home from school and are “too tired” to go to their training but they

   go anyway.

- I pay for my kids to learn to be disciplined, focused and dedicated.

- I pay for my kids to learn to take care of their body and equipment.

- I pay for my kids to learn to work with others and to be good teammates, gracious in defeat and humble in

  success.

- I pay for my kids to learn to deal with disappointment, when they don’t get that placing or title they’d hoped

  for, but still they go back week after week giving it their best.

- I pay for my kids to learn to make and accomplish goals.

- I pay for my kids to respect, not only, themselves, but other athletes, officials and coaches.

- I pay for my kids to learn that it takes hours to and hours, years and years of hard work and practice to

  create a champion and that success does not happen overnight.

- I pay for my kids to be proud of small achievements, and to work towards long-term goals.

- I pay for the opportunity my kids have and will have to make life-long friendships, create lifelong memories,

  to be as proud of their achievements as I am.

- I pay so that my kids can be out on the court or in the gym instead of in front of a screen…

- I could go on but, to be short, I don’t pay for sports; I pay for the opportunities that sports provides my kids

  with to develop attributes that will serve them well throughout their lives and give them the opportunity to

  bless the lives of others.  From what I’ve seen so far I think it is a great investment! “Unknown”

 

 

8 Ways to Be a Great Sports Parent: “Changing the Game Project”

1. Model positive behaviors

    Encourage the value of being a great teammate.  Teach child how to prefer others and

    measure success by improvement rather than minutes or rotations played in a game. 

 

2. See the future, but enjoy the present.

    As parents it's important we see the result of the journey as our children will tend to get caught up in

    the moment.

 

3. Encourage Risk taking and find joy in the effort.

    As we all know for growth to happen, we all need our homeostasis to be disrupted or challenged and

    sport is a great place for this to take place.  Off-season Volleyball is the perfect place to practice and

    risk making improvements.

   

4. Celebrate the competitor above the winner.

    How do we as parents do  this?   Measure success by improvement in the physical, mental and

    emotional aspects of the game, not the Scoreboard nor how much "playing time they get compared

    to others on the team".  

 

5. Foster independence by allowing your athlete to take ownership.

    This is a big one for us parents.   Allow your child to own their developmental journey, allow them to

    problem solve, wrestle through the obstacles sports presents, communicate with peers and coaches. 

 

6. Treat the coach as an ally, not an adversary. 

    Demonstrate to your young athlete how to have grace when the coach and teammates make

    mistakes.   Explain to your child that none of us are perfect and extending grace and forgiveness to

    others is important. 

 

7. Encourage academics

    Like most sports volleyball is a game of math!  Reading angles, putting our arms and legs into proper

    kinesthetic angles/positions to gain positive potential when contacting the ball. Did you know 80% of

    serve receive happens before the ball crosses the net which is we teach players where to position

    their eyes and read angles to optimize their success. 

 

8. Just love watching your kids play.

    Again may we encourage you to love the journey sports invites your children on.  Let them know you

    enjoy watching them compete, support their teammates, contribute to the team in a positive way and

    so on.  

 

“Your Child’s Success or lack of success in sports does not indicate what kind of parent you are.  But having an athlete that is coachable, respectful, a great teammate, mentally tough, resilient and tries their best IS a direct reflection of your parenting.”  Anonymous

 

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