Are parents giving enough support to boost their children’s sporting career?
If you asked me 10 years ago, I would say yes but nowadays, I don't even see parents allow their kids to play sports let alone supporting them.
Do you know that parents these days see involvement in sports as a hindrance compared to the 60s and 70s when real legends were made?
By right, parents should play an important role in influencing their children's sports experiences. Parents can help their children to be physically active in a number of ways, including lead by example, making sure that family outings offer opportunities for physical activities, such as playing sports together.
So in my life, these were the 10 initiatives which I noticed from my parents throughout my sporting years.
Pic courtesy of Tana Rayer
At a very young age, my parents actually exposed me to outdoor games. They gave me the freedom to try out various sports. With more time spent through outdoor sports and less on screens (TV and mobile), it helped build my character.
The simplest thing that my parents did to expose us to more outdoor sports was by playing with us during the weekends. It was also a way for my parents to connect to me emotionally and to understand me better.
Turning up for my games; No matter where it was held, my parents would drive down after work to witness it. Even if they had to pull over at the nearest RnR for a short nap, they’ll be the earliest supporters to arrive in the stadium.
As an athlete, whenever I trained from home, they'd video my training session and runs just to show me and correct me. Analysing each session together only helped me to polish my techniques to be a better runner.
My parents would take turns to pick me up from training just to keep track of my training and performance.
Pic courtesy of Tana Rayer
My parents always consulted my coaches and helped plan my training programs and meals. They took an hour or two every month to consult my teachers to find ways to encourage my participation in sports and physical activity.
These consultations and little efforts made a huge difference in my performance because as kids we notice the importance our parents are putting into our performance.
My parents ensured I got enough sleep. They also did their best to arrange and provide good meals and nutritious food.
I never had the chance of attending functions and even a day out with my friends during school holidays, simply because every moment in training counts and my parents were strict in that sense.
Parents are often the primary socializing agents for getting children involved, often teaching the first steps referring to sports skills, and many young elite athletes emphasize the supportive influence of their parents during their career. Parents who are or have been active athletes themselves may initially act as the child’s first coach and are highly committed to their children’s careers. They invest money, time, and emotional support into their kids. This sort of support requires constant consistency and patience just as the saying “Rome wasn’t built in a day”.
One of those many reasons why parents fail in contributing to their child’s sporting career is because parents themselves are extremely busy building their career and have no time to even physically and mentally support their child’s efforts in sport. Like my situation, my parents were extremely busy but they did try their best to be there at each match, cheering on me and my teammates from the sidelines and grandstand. They would drive down even after work to whichever states I competed just to show me their support and effort taken.
All this has made me appreciate my parents more, as their sacrifices have helped make me the athlete I am today. They are my role models and someday I hope to emulate them.
