Inspiring young athletes to achieve higher or greater
performances starts at home. Achieving higher levels of performance in
wrestling, basketball, lacrosse, soccer, football, or any other sport starts
at home by utilizing some of the confidence and character building suggestions
below.
Parents Provide Support As Role Models—The First Step Towards Success In
Athletics
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First, parents need to provide support for their son or daughter involved in athletics. Parents can do this by becoming the star role model for their young athlete to look up to. The standard for a positive attitude on the field or any athletic venue begins at home. A positive attitude begins with positive support from the young athlete’s parents and family. Positive support is contagious because it starts by inspiring confidence in the young athlete. Even athletes advancing into high school will experience this positive attitude contagion. Thus, positive parental support evolves into confidence for the athlete. This translates into a benefit for the team in general. It is a benefit because the contagious positive team attitude fosters better team performance—meaning better chances for additional victories.
Parents Provide Support By Encouragerment
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A supportive parent will also encourage their young athlete to perform better on the field. As mentioned above, confidence building adds to increased athletic performance. Once the young athlete begins to push the possibilities of self-achievement, this will result in incremental gains that ultimately produce even greater self-achievements. Fellow team members may pick up on this as a challenge to them! As a result, team members’ performances may increase, providing counter-challenges as other team members improve and strive harder to prove themselves as the better athlete. The cycle continues and the athletes and the team benefits from it.
Support For An Athlete's Mental Conditioning
Parents provide support by encouraging the development of a young
athlete’s mental or psychological conditioning. Basically, this conditioning involves responses to the mental competition or psychological challenges within
their sport. The ability of a young athlete to develop the right mindset will enable them to react to whatever psychological or physical challenges they
encounter. Mental conditioning is very important for the athlete's development.
Good psychological development will put a young athlete at a distinct advantage over their competition. An athlete with a clear head and strong mental focus will retain the ability to mentally process the offensive tactics of an aggressive opponent. The psychologically developed athlete will also command the advantage of being able to quickly counter whatever play or strategy an opponent employs. In short, mental conditioning will provide the ability to make quick changes to the competition. It will also provide the athlete with the ability to react decisively, by countering with offensive strategies before an opponent is aware of the change.
Without the psychological conditioning, an opponent with equal coaching, equal team conditioning, and equal physical attributes will have an advantage over the psychologically unprepared athlete. The athlete lacking the psychological conditioning will mentally succumb to their challenger--meaning they easily give up and are defeated.
Good psychological development will put a young athlete at a distinct advantage over their competition. An athlete with a clear head and strong mental focus will retain the ability to mentally process the offensive tactics of an aggressive opponent. The psychologically developed athlete will also command the advantage of being able to quickly counter whatever play or strategy an opponent employs. In short, mental conditioning will provide the ability to make quick changes to the competition. It will also provide the athlete with the ability to react decisively, by countering with offensive strategies before an opponent is aware of the change.
Without the psychological conditioning, an opponent with equal coaching, equal team conditioning, and equal physical attributes will have an advantage over the psychologically unprepared athlete. The athlete lacking the psychological conditioning will mentally succumb to their challenger--meaning they easily give up and are defeated.
Psychological Conditioning Aids In Emotional Conditioning
Psychological conditioning is the first step towards
emotional conditioning. Mental conditioning requires the young athlete to
face up to the aggressive and intimidating tactics of a tough opponent. The
young athlete needs both psychological conditioning and emotional
conditioning. Having the right mindset will also enable the young
athlete to avoid over-reacting emotionally to the psychological challenges they face
from competitive team pressure and pressure from the opposition.
The Emotional Strength To Accept Constructive Criticism
As mentioned, psychological conditioning leads to emotional conditioning--most importantly to emotional strength. The development of emotional strength will benefit any young athlete. Emotional strength will enable the young athlete to accept constructive criticism
from his or her coach. A young athlete also needs the emotional development to absorb
and accept constructive coaching during his or her development. For example, a
young athlete needs the emotional development to accept a coach’s decision to
utilize the athlete in a different capacity. A young athlete may have self-directed
expectations that leads them to believe they have a talent for a particular
position or strategy that is best for the team. However, the coach may have
spotted even greater potential in the young athlete for something different.
Parental support is also necessary in developing the positive mental attitude that
becomes the positive emotional strength a young athlete needs. A young athlete
needs the positive emotional strength to think positively about learning repetitious
drills, advanced and basic plays, and maneuvers designed to achieve a victory.
Supporting A Young Athlete In Both Triumph And Defeat
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Parents must be there to provide support for both the victories and defeats that their young athlete may experience. It pretty much common knowledge that it does not take as much effort on a parent’s part to be supportive after a victory. However, the real challenge for a parent to provide support is after either a crushing defeat or a narrow victory by the opposition. A defeat is a defeat—no matter what the margins are, slim, medium or somewhere in between. Some athletes view the loss as an opportunity to learn from the defeat. So, they move on and train for the next opponent. Other athletes take a defeat personally. They experience the loss with a huge emotional letdown—crushing their emotional outlook on the sport. This in turn weakens their self-confidence, and team moral is shaken. This occurs because the sense of defeat is contagious, as well.
So a supportive parent must be there to provide the encouragement that overcomes the emotional letdown of defeat. A supportive
parent must stand ready to show their support for an emotionally crushed young athlete.
Sometimes the support requires a hug or a pat on the back expressing confidence
in their performance. It is important for the young athlete to know their team performed
to their fullest capacity. At other times, support might include the constructive
analysis of the sports event—pointing the requirement for additional conditioning
or improved strategies. If this is the case, be supportive of the coaches, too.
They will review the team’s performance in general. Then, they will devise
measures intended to avoid future defeats.
Parents Provide Support By Encouraging Good Sportsmanship
Good sportsmanship is critical for a good team and for an athlete's development in life. Another role of a supportive parent requires them to
encourage good sportsmanship. Encouraging good sportsmanship will pay handsome dividends on a parent’s investment
of time and effort. The support to become a good sportsman will build character for a young athlete—for both boys and
girls.
Motivation, Often Overlooked, But Never Forgotten!
In the process of providing parental support, an important
sports’ development attribute that often isn't addressed is motivation, specifically the motivation to be persistent. Often,
it is difficult for a young athlete to have the motivation to attend practice,
condition training sessions, or drills in the wake of a resounding defeat. This
also holds true for the athlete or the team that has scored a major win over an undefeated
challenger. In this case, an athlete and fellow team members often believe that additional practice or
training is unnecessary, because they have trumped their opposition. In both cases, good parental
support is a must for developing the young athlete’s continuous motivation.
Different Forms Of Parental Support For Young Athletes
Parental support for a young athlete can take on various
forms. For example, a hug of reassurance by a mom or dad can provide an easy
emotional fix. A simple hug can provide the instant security a young athlete
needs after facing a taunting opponent. Parental support can also take the form
of logic in analyzing what happened to either lead to a victory or a defeat.
Another form of support is an open expression of support for a son or daughter
in their athletic performance. The open expression of support can be done by
wearing a t-shirt that states your support. Battle Tek Wrestling offers a
number of t-shirts that fill this role. We encourage you to take a look at them
on Battle Tek Wrestling’s Website to read a similar article. or see them on Battle Tek Athletics’ website for mom's wrestling t-shirt, mom's babydoll t-shirt, or dad's wrestling t-shirt.
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