Parent Involvement and Education - A Key To Our Childrens Success!!!

In my opinion, Parents are the MOST important part of a child's formation in any aspect of life. Whether it be in the church, school and/or social scene - Parents have a great influence on what their children become and can instill good values at an early age. This is the same for Soccer!

We NEED parents to help us educate the players in town about sportsmanship, healthy competition and accepting defeat and success with class. I am asking for our parents to help stress these values each and everyday on the soccer pitch. I feel that it is very important for Easton Soccer and the parents to work together in providing the BEST possible learning environment for our players. In an effort to maximize this "outreach" effort - I will be posting helpful hints, ideas and articles on this community page through out the season. My hope is to spark some sharing and trading of ideas!

I believe that if we all come together as the leaders of Easton Soccer, then our children will greatly benefit. We want parents to be involved in volunteer coaching, team managing, volunteer positions at the board level and just be great fans.

It is my hope that this discussion will be beneficial for all of us here in Easton.

Can't wait to see you out on the fields!!!

Here is a good article to help get the discussion going.

Everyone would agree that parent involvement in sports is a good thing if parents behave appropriately and professionally. Unfortunately there are a few parents out there that take parent involvement far past
the word "involved" and can create poor environments for kids to
be learning and enjoying themselves. Let's look a little deeper into
parent involvement in sports and some do's and don'ts for sports going
parents.

Responsible sport parenting

Some have often wondered if such a term exists "responsible parenting" when it comes to watching children play sports. There are however a couple of key things to keep in mind when involving yourself
in your child's
sports activities.

1. A responsible parent will always ensure that the safety of your child comes first and foremost.
2. A responsible parent will also help their child learn life lessons
from the sports they are playing; on and off the field.
3. With those two things in mind you can now ask yourself, is this
ultimately what I have in mind when I get involved with the sports my
child plays? If your answer is no, then it may be time to readjust your
objectives and motives for putting your child in sports and motives for
getting so involved.

Things you can do as an involved parent in sports

While it may be hard to stay away, after all it is your child and you want the best there are some things you can do to make sure that you keep yourself in check when it comes to your child and playing sports:

•Don't feel bad about receiving pleasure from watching your child play and be successful at what they do. Every proud parent is guilty of that, but make sure you keep that pride check and don't let your ego
get too high and mighty. That's usually when bad things begin to
happen.
•Even though competitions, games, or matches may be stressful for you, try and enjoy yourself. That's why you put your child into
sports in the first place isn't it? So they could learn to compete,
learn some valuable character building lessons, and enjoy themselves
doing it. If you're not enjoying it then neither will they.
•Try to relax while your watching them perform. Kids can sense stress
and tension a mile away and will respond accordingly. Your lack of
energy or high stress mode can affect the way they perform and how they
feel about the game or sport.
•Live your life. While we always want to be involved in every aspect of
our child's life it's not healthy and virtually impossible. Have your
own life outside of your child's sports so that they have their space
and you still have yours.
•Emphasize fun, self discipline, and cooperation. Help your child get
more out of the game than just competing and winning. Parents can teach
some very valuable lessons when they get involved with sports.

Things not to do as an involved parent in sports

While there are many things a responsible, caring adult can do to help their child find success in their sport, there are also some things you should avoid doing:

•Don't let the success or failure of your child's sport dictate how you feel about yourself. If you find this happening then it's time to take a step back from the situation and realign your values and motives
for being so involved.
•Don't worry so much about how your child performs. Encourage them to
do their best and let the chips fall where they may.
•Don't ever make enemies with any of the other parents. This only
causes rifts between families and children and really only ends up
hurting the child.
•Don't lose yourself in the sport. Most, if not all parents want the
best for their child and will go to extreme lengths to help them find
success. Don't take your parental instincts too far though and lose who
you are in becoming too involved with the sport itself. You can't live
your life through your child and expect them or yourself to still enjoy
it.

Parent involvement in sports can be a good or a bad thing, depending
on the type of parent involving themselves. If you are responsible and
remember that you child is participating because they like it and not
just to beat someone else or win, win, win, then you will have a
positive experience.