Elite Feats

Sneak Peek

Module 5All Rights Reserved ©
    Parents In Sport
    Why Sport Matters For Parents And Children
    What Are Your Responsibilities As a Parent?
    A Child’s Bill of Sporting Rights
    Let The Coach Do Their Job
    The Need For Adaptability And Agility
    Identifying Competencies For Parents
    The Coach–Athlete–Parent Relationship
    Conclusion
    Work Book
    Sample Report
    References

Doing The Best For Your Child

Ask any parent what they want for their child and they are likely to respond: “I want the best”. Parents enrol their children in sport for the same reason: so they can have ‘the best’ experience and get the most from participation. Typically this means: gaining important life skills, self confidence, physical health, affiliation and having the chance to interact with others. However a parent’s good intentions risk being undermined. Misunderstanding, over-involvement, a win-at-all costs attitude, and poor relationships with coaches and officials are just a few of these risks. I reflect on my own experience, as a parent with two daughters who actively participated in sport, one at the junior elite level in gymnastics. I struggled with my own competitive impulses, their choices, their injuries and questioned my gymnast daughter’s ‘workload’ with her coach. I often asked myself: have I done all that I can to maximise their experience?

Parental effectiveness means juggling many balls. Keeping the balls in the air means selecting the appropriate sport, giving your support (practical and emotional), being a role model, creating the right climate and attitude, and promoting good relations with coaches, teams and officials.

What follows is a guide to help you chart the right course in sport for your child, so that you can make appropriate choices, increase your effectiveness and help your child to get the most from their participation in sport. While the information provided is practical and commonsense, it is reassuring to know that it comes from credible sources and is supported by research.

The objectives of this module are to:

  • Explore why your child should participate in sport (frankly, if you or your child can’t see the benefits, participation is unlikely)
  • Determine your roles and responsibilities as a parent in your child’s development in sport, and how this changes over time, with their development
  • Clarify your child’s rights in their sporting development
  • Determine the coach’s roles and responsibilities in your child’s development in sport
  • Examine how you can most effectively manage the coach–athlete–parent relationship
  • Provide practical tips to build your parenting competencies so you can optimise your child’s involvement in sport and let them enjoy the many benefits of sport.