Encouragement The game is on. The kids are on the field; you are excited but you don’t know what to say. But even if you did, will they hear you? You bet they do. Most kids are very aware of what you do and say on the sidelines. Some kids even complain when their parents socialize too much and don t pay attention to the game. Some kids may also know that if you are too focused on something like playing at 666CASINO and don’t pay attention to them, you should be wary. Children rely heavily on the external feedback they receive from adults. A child’s perception of herself comes from the reactions of parents and coaches. Even just a few comments from the sidelines can determine if a child s experience is positive or negative. This is why it s important for parents and coaches to learn how to provide encouragement and feedback. It seems that no matter how a child plays parents and coaches are saying great game or nice play. The positive energy and attitude is a good thing. However, you must be careful how you direct it. Kids are not stupid. A child s capacity to judge what he does improves with age and he knows when you are shouting false praise. Kids respect honest comments that are constructive and don’t hurt anyone’s feelings.
Kids want to improve their skills and value good information. Constructive comments and good positive feedback also show your child that you know what s going on, and that you are paying attention. For example, put yourself in their shoes. What do you want to hear? Let’s say you just sanded and re-stained your mother s antique chest. It s awful and you know it, but everyone is telling you how nice it looks. Either they’re lying or they don t know what they are talking about. It may be polite, but deep inside it s really hard to appreciate either. How To Encourage Players When you are on the sideline, you have to remember that it isn t just what you say, it’s how much. It’s easy to get excited and you have to balance your enthusiasm. You should be aware of how much you are cheering from the sidelines. Your child isn t the only one who hears you, and an overly enthusiastic parent can be very embarrassing.
In order to give encouragement you need to separate effort and outcome. Encouragement is not dependent on the success of any given play. If a child misses a pass you focus on the effort not the success or failure. It s not that players can do nothing wrong. They can and they will. Encouragement has nothing to do with the right play or the wrong play. That’s coaching. Right and wrong is also a hard thing to judge. You can’t say what’s in a player s mind. You can’t see what the player sees. There are countless variables involved as a ball simply rolls across a field.
The point is it’s hard to say if something a player did was wrong. Correcting mistakes or styles of play takes time and evaluation. A team will lose the ball and regain control of it constantly during a game. You could say that soccer is a game of constant success and constant failure. You can make a choice about which one you choose to see. There may be times that the coach can explain a certain situation where she wants parents yelling something. For example, during a corner kick the coach might want all the parents telling the players to Mark Tight! or Stay with your Checks! Make sure you talk with the coach about it. You don’t want to say things that conflict with the coach s plans. This is one page from the 44 page Soccer Guide For Parents. I hope you find the rest of the guide useful! This excerpt is taken from the Soccer Guide for Parents. Most of the guide is online and can be found here at Soccer Guide for Parents. You can also buy print guides in bulk for clubs for only fifty cents a copy.
Article Source: Teaching Soccer Parents How To Cheer Positively From The Sidelines.
