PLAYING YOUTH SPORTS
FOR THE RIGHT REASONS...
by:
Jim Miller • President Youth
Sports Foundation
I attended my son’s
baseball game a week ago and
noticed a man behind thebackstop, he was very vocal to
the umpire. “That was a ball!”
he yelled. When his son came
to bat I noticed all the
instructions he barked out at
his kid, “bend the knees,
extend your arms. Swing like
you mean it!” His son struck
out and he went over to him
and said, “if you don’t listen
to what I am saying when you
bat you will always be
terrible."
Wow! I thought here is a kid
who tried very hard at the
plate and he is receiving no
support from
his father. If he is learning
shouldn’t that father be happy
about that?
I know the dad and walked over
and said hello and we visited
for a few minutes. I found out
that his father really wanted
him to play baseball and that
his son had no interest at
all. The father said “I never
got to make a college team
when I was young and I just
want him to excel in a sport
and get a scholarship.” I
asked him if he thought that
was best for his son and his
response was, “of course, we
need to lead them in the right
direction.”
What is the right direction?
Is it a kid who dislikes
sports because of his parents?
What is the right reason?
Isn’t it to have fun, learn a
sport, make new friends and
stay active and healthy?
As parents we need to ask
ourselves why did I sign my
son/daughter up for this
sports activity?
If you find yourself thinking
of YOU then you have the wrong
idea.
Wanting something good for
your kids is not a bad thing,
but getting it by pushing them
and cutting them down is. If
your child grows to love a
sport because he/she had a
positive experience at it,
then who knows, they may just
get to a place they want to
be.
Is it right to push your kid
to play sports? NO! Kids
should want to play sports and
maybe the
reason some kids don’t want to
play is because of the
pressures parents put on them
to perform at the “highest
level”. It has been said over
and over, kids develop at
different times in their lives
and if your son or daughter is
struggling today this does not
mean they will struggle in a
year.
Encourage your kids to try a
sport and be as supportive as
you can in a positive way,
this will lead to more success
then if you yell at them about
not being the “great” player
you want them to be. Kids
should be playing sports for
the fun of it and not just to
win or because dad and mom
want them to. Remember youth
sports are for the kids, we as
parents need to sit back,
relax and enjoy the time we
have to watch them grow and
have fun playing.
