Parenting and Sports: The worst kid on the team

When people become parents we often have high hopes for our children especially if they start participating and maybe even competing in a sport. We often know that there will be moments when our kid does not want to practice, does not get a long with the coach or a teammate. We also know that performances in sports may vary depending on the day and that these times usually pass. Often we want to encourage our children to practice harder and even spend money on private coaching lessons and other performance enhancing methods. Therefore, it hits hard when our children decide that they don't want to play the sport anymore. This article does an excellent job explaining the challenges of parenting in sports and what to consider when the own child is the worst kid on the team.

Over involved parents in sports

This week's news about P. Diddy being arrested for attacking his son's coach with a kettle bell due to not agreeing with his coaching methods, shows once more how well intentioned parents at times may create more problems for their kids. Especially in sports, children have to learn to fight and solve their own issues and reap the consequences for certain behaviors. Hard work and being pushed by good coaches is a foundation for success. Over involved parents can create a barrier for reaching success by not allowing the coach to do his job and stopping the children from pushing their own limits to get better.