It’s that time of year where you’ve taken in a few full weeks of fall sports’ practice along with adjusting to the school schedule. This time of year can pose a big question for some children – are they ready for the fall sport they have chosen?
It seems particularly difficult at this time of year because two of the top fall sports – football and soccer – are physically demanding and children are still adjusting to their schedules for school.
This poses difficult decisions for coaches and parents alike.
Coaches, if a child appears particularly miserable and disengaged after two to three weeks of practices, it’s probably time to make sure the parents are aware of this. Gently explaining the situation will help the parents properly assess the situation and make the appropriate decisions with the child.
Parents, be ready for this message from a coach. If you’ve observed that your child is making excessive excuses to avoid practices or the child is not talking positively about the experience, it may time to reassess the situation. It may be REALLY time to reassess the situation if a coach informs you that he or she has noticed the same behavior in your child.
As a parent, I always like to teach the value of “never quit.” However, if a child is particularly miserable in his or her effort to play a sport they don’t enjoy; this isn’t helpful to that child, the coaches, the parents or other players. Check out these two blogs and what they have to say about "pushing" children too hard in their activities (very interesting) -- youthsportstips.blogspot.com and parents.berkeley.edu/advice/playing/sports.html
We have so many other options for activities that our children can pursue. As long as coaches and parents are consistently steering children toward activities where they will excel, then nobody is quitting and everybody is winning.
It seems particularly difficult at this time of year because two of the top fall sports – football and soccer – are physically demanding and children are still adjusting to their schedules for school.
This poses difficult decisions for coaches and parents alike.
Coaches, if a child appears particularly miserable and disengaged after two to three weeks of practices, it’s probably time to make sure the parents are aware of this. Gently explaining the situation will help the parents properly assess the situation and make the appropriate decisions with the child.
Parents, be ready for this message from a coach. If you’ve observed that your child is making excessive excuses to avoid practices or the child is not talking positively about the experience, it may time to reassess the situation. It may be REALLY time to reassess the situation if a coach informs you that he or she has noticed the same behavior in your child.
As a parent, I always like to teach the value of “never quit.” However, if a child is particularly miserable in his or her effort to play a sport they don’t enjoy; this isn’t helpful to that child, the coaches, the parents or other players. Check out these two blogs and what they have to say about "pushing" children too hard in their activities (very interesting) -- youthsportstips.blogspot.com and parents.berkeley.edu/advice/playing/sports.html
We have so many other options for activities that our children can pursue. As long as coaches and parents are consistently steering children toward activities where they will excel, then nobody is quitting and everybody is winning.
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