| How is your sports relationship with your child? Are | | | | they are ready. |
| you supporting your child in their sport the way they | | | | 8. Failing to see the value of sports lessons as |
| need to be nurtured? Do you understand your child's | | | | preparation for life itself. |
| sport experience? Do you create an environment that | | | | 9. Allowing their child to get away with poor behavior |
| helps develop your child through their sport career? As | | | | by making excuses for it, or by failing to exert parental |
| founder and President of The International Mental | | | | standards. |
| Game Coaching Association I certify coaches, coach | | | | 10. Failing to match their child's sport choice to their |
| kids and adults and consult to parents, coaches and | | | | temperament, sensibilities, talents and values. |
| officials. I continually hear about parents who make | | | | 11. Projecting their own insecurities, worries and |
| numerous mistakes in their desire to achieve sports | | | | nervousness about their child's performance onto their |
| success. I've been coaching for over 35 years and | | | | child, especially before a competition. |
| have seen these issues up close and personal. Take a | | | | 12. Not allowing their child to own their sport |
| look at these common mistakes parents make with | | | | experience, and thereby learn from their mistakes, and |
| their child's sports experiences. How many of these | | | | instead doing everything for their child. |
| would your child say you make? How many of these | | | | 13. Performing a post-competition analysis sooner than |
| can you avoid making? | | | | their child would like it. |
| As President of The International Mental Game | | | | 14. Asking "Did you win?" after a competition, rather |
| Coaching Association, one of my goals is to spread | | | | than saying something that carries less pressure. |
| the concepts of mental toughness and self-coaching | | | | 15. Failing to listen and to allow their child to process |
| throughout the world. I want children to become more | | | | their feelings after a difficult practice or stressful |
| self-reliant, have higher self-esteem, make better | | | | competition. |
| decisions, learn better judgment, manage their stress, | | | |
|
| engage the zone in performance and achieve to their | | | | 16. Smothering their child, by hovering around every |
| full potential. | | | | sport activity their child attends, from practices to |
| 20 Mistakes Parents Make With Their Kids In The | | | | training session to competitions (known as being a |
| World Of Sport | | | | Helicopter Parent). |
| 1. Lecturing their child about the sport's techniques and | | | | 17. Failing to support or respect the coaching staff. |
| strategies when they never played the sport, or played | | | | 18. Displaying poor sportsmanship. |
| at a low level. | | | |
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| 2. Criticizing, judging or lecturing their child about their | | | | 19. Failing to be a role model for the behaviors they |
| performance under pressure when they themselves | | | | want their children to display. |
| have never competed, or competed at a low level, | | | | 20. Taking it as personal criticism when their child |
| and do not understand the pressures of competition. | | | | makes requests for them to modify their parenting |
| 3. Failing to create a supportive, organized environment | | | | behavior. |
| the day of competitions. | | | | So there you have it, the 20 mistakes sports parents |
| 4. Treating officials and staff with less than full respect. | | | | make with their kids. To see our larger article with the |
| 5. Rushing their child's early sport technique | | | | 77 mistakes parents make, go here: |
| development, when that should be the slowest, most | | | | For a comprehensive overview of your child's mental |
| careful period of all, to gain solid fundamentals that last | | | | abilities you need an assessment instrument that |
| a lifetime, which don't need to be corrected later in their | | | | identifies their complete mental strengths and |
| career. | | | | weaknesses. For a free, easy-to-take sports |
| 6. Placing unwanted pressure on their child by framing | | | | psychology assessment tool, visit:
|
| competitions as being "Must win", "Can't lose", "An | | | | We also offer extensive resources with which to |
| important event", "Critical competition", and the like. | | | | improve your child's entire mental game. |
| 7. Pushing their child into a sport or competition before | | | | |
