This is a guest blog post from Annette Reiter, the author of the book Parenting an Athlete.
Since we at Mental Toughness Academy feel so strongly that parents attitudes can make or break an athlete, we want to be sure you are getting great resources to support your being the best sport parent….
Parenting An Athlete Is Not Always An Easy Task, Is It?
I believe Mental toughness is a key ingredient of a successful athlete.
This mental toughness not only comes from within, but can also come directly from the parent’s attitude toward sports. The role that parents play in the development of their children is crucial, especially when it comes to athletics.
While many parents today are aware of the need to provide their child with the best opportunities to succeed and excel in sports such as personal trainers, camps, clinics, and sports psychologists, all very necessary in today’s world, many are completely unaware of the tremendous impact they have on their child’s attitude and self-esteem.
Athletics is a wonderful opportunity to learn life lessons and we as sports parents must be prepared emotionally for not only the success, but also the failures and disappointments that go hand and hand with athletics. We need to spin adversities into a positive so that real life lessons can be learned and children can grown and develop, not just physically but emotionally.
If we look back at our own lives we will realize that our experiences dealing with adversity were the times when we actually grew the most and became the avenues that prepared us for real life issues.
As other parents of this generation my husband and I wanted to pave the road for our children in gold, wanting them to only experience the thrill of athletics and success and try to shield them from adversity. I look back now at my children’s careers and realize that everything that they experienced, the good and the bad, helped to mold them into successful adults.
The adversities that they faced in sports taught them character, resilience, strength, and perseverance. We never wanted to send the message that they were “entitled.” My husband and I tried to maintain a positive attitude no matter what the situation and spin adversity such as unfairness, and disappointment into a positive learning experience.
I have recently written a motivational book, “Parenting an Athlete, which looks at all angles of raising a sports-minded son or daughter, with the goal of guiding parents so that they positively and encouragingly interact—not interfere—with their child athlete and help them overcome adversity.
Having lived all sides of the “parenting and sports” issue, I am able to write from an informed perspective. I have coached junior high, high school and college athletes for nearly 20 years. As a mother of athletes, I have experienced being a proud as well as frustrated parent on the sidelines. And as a basketball player in the 1970s and 1980s, I know the highs and lows of being a child athlete.
I have written this book because I am extremely passionate about this subject. Parent’s attitudes towards coaches, refs, players, other parents, and administrators flow directly to the child athlete. My desire is that I will be able to attend a sporting event and see more positive talk in the stands, observe parents watching their children play without unrealistic expectations.
I want parents to appreciate what their children are actually achieving right now, not missing out on their children’s careers, because of useless churning and possible disappointment because of expectations.
My hope is that in some small way we can all become better parents so that our influence encourages our child athlete to be the best they can possibly be both on and off the playing field.
Please visit my website www.Parentinganathlete.net to learn more about “Parenting an Athlete” or to purchase the book. I am also on Facebook: “Parenting an Athlete”
We also would love you to share in the comments below a story of when you were able to help your child learn a positive lesson after a disappointing loss or mistake and control their emotions.