Backyard Sports Timeout – Where our coaches field parents’ questions about Team Sports and offer ways to make it the Fun, Enriching Experience it’s supposed to be
Is it realistic to enroll our 5th grader in a team sport if our schedules don’t allow us to attend all the games and practices? I’m afraid my son will feel like we don’t care. Should we skip enrolling this year or make the best of it?
A: When I was growing up in suburbia I knew two kids who came from single parent homes. They didn’t have dads in their lives and their moms worked. Well, my dad made sure that these kids got picked up every day to get to practices on weekends. Even though their parents weren’t there, my dad made sure that when everyone else got to go for ice cream that these kids went out and got ice cream, too. It was something that had great impact on me because my dad saw that it took just a little more to get these kids the right kind of experience. He looked out for the underdogs in the community.
Let’s think about it from this perspective: When a child is involved in a team sport and they’re enjoying it, but their parent doesn’t show up to the games all the time, is the child as crushed as the parents think they are? Most likely, they are not. There are other ways to engage the child. Letting the child have their time and be in the moment without supervisory eyeballs at constant attention, allows the child to own their sports experience.
The Big Takeaway: The best conversation to have with your child is, “What happened today?” How great is it for the parent to hear from their child what transpired, as opposed to the other parent who is micromanaging the event, telling the child everything that went wrong. In other words, when a parent skips a game, it creates an opportunity for a healthy engaging conversation. And by having the conversation after the fact it’s showing the child that they care.
Backyard Sports provides weekend and after school sports instruction and game play for boys and girls ages 4-16 years old. Our programs are designed for EVERY child who desires a positive and healthy sports experience. #CompetitiveSportsDoneRight