My kids have been involved in sports since they could walk. My oldest daughter is now in high school and plays on the teams there. As a parent, I wanted to make sure that I encouraged and reinforced the positive aspects of youth sports. Unfortunately, my children have seen parents, and coaches, acting in ways that are not appropriate.
In order to encourage my kids to remain interested in sports, I emphasize the personal aspects of the each game. They have personal goals to improve their skills and do better. Even if their team loses, they can feel good about how well they tried.
Last week, my middle daughter participated in a soccer tournament. She went out their and did her best and improved her game. One of the games was against a much bigger and older team, but my daughter did not give up, she just tried her best. Even though they ended up losing that game, she felt good about giving her all.
[photopress:responsible_sports.png,full,pp_image] I was thrilled to find that Liberty Mutual has a website, ResponsibleSports.com with advice for parents and coaches on how to help children succeed on and off the field. After browsing the site, I find a lot of useful information for me as a parent and for me as a coach too!
