Parenting Athletes

Abstract

Exercise and sports involvement are highly beneficial for youth. These extracurricular activities have a multitude of physical and emotional benefits and teach both the skills of the sport and social skills. However, parenting an athlete is not an easy task. Today's youth athletes are pushed harder than ever before. With the introduction of the Junior Olympics and travel ball, the stakes have become higher and the pressure more intense for these young athletes. For parents, facilitating sports involvement in their child and being involved but not too involved is a fine line. Pulling from research and applied experience in sports psychology, this chapter outlines methods parents can implement to increase children's motivation to engage in sports, increase their performance, return from setbacks, transition out of sports, and practice self-care. This chapter will discuss the dos and don'ts of parenting children in sports and other performance activities. Parenting athletes and high-level performers presents unique challenges but also presents opportunities to foster a child's growth and development. The authors focus on how parents' roles change as their children progress from youngsters learning basic techniques into skilled athletes. They begin with ways to encourage children to engage in sports and activities and foster intrinsic motivation. They then move on to the delicate balance of allowing children to have autonomy while still teaching commitment and motivating them – without pushing so hard that it contributes to anxiety and burnout. This leads to the parent's level of involvement where the authors discuss what the parent's role is and what it is not. Next, they focus on the child's potential setbacks, such as injury and game loss. Then, they propose strategies to help the child successfully rebound from these setbacks. Discussion will follow on how to support children as they prepare to transition out of sport and preparatory methods that can be used early on to keep an identity that extends beyond athletics. Finally, they wrap up with a personal note to parents on how their own experiences and expectations may be projected onto their children. Parental self-care and awareness will be encouraged, as they are vital to the well-being of the parent, the child, and their relationship.