Parents and Coaches Involvement in Sport

Parents and Coaches Involvement in Sport

Why do sports play a huge role in our society? It seems like a large percent of kids start to play sports at an early age. When you think about it, most of the time it's not even the child's decision to participate, their parents just sign their kids up. I know when I was younger, I really didn't choose to play soccer but I played under eights for three years or so. I finally realized that soccer was not really the sport I wanted to play or become good at, I had no desire. My sport was hockey, but I couldn't participate because my father said we don't have the funds for my equipment. Finally when I was about ten or eleven my father and I went out and purchased used equipment so I could get started in this sport that absolutely blew my mind. It took me some time to build skills but I finally made the travel team for the city I lived in. My parents would attend every game cheering me on but it was after the game when my dad would talk to me about the things I did right but more importantly what I did wrong and what I must work on. As much as I hated hearing constructive criticism from my father I knew I had to take it and build on it if I wanted to get better.

So what I am getting at here is parents play a big part in their children's athletic lives. They are the ones that have to bring you back and forth, the ones that pay so you can play, and the ones that want to see you win and do well the most. Also, since your parents are doing all of this work and paying this money, they are not going to want to see their child riding the pine pony even if they are terrible because at this stage it's really all about learning the fundamentals of the game and building sportsmanship and friendship skills. Your mom and dad are the first ones to kick the ball, or play goalie, or play catch with you so you could say they are almost like your first coach in a sense and that has a big impact on the athlete you are trying to make of your kid.

This brings me to the next point, coaches. Coaches can make or break an athlete. You must have a good relationship with your coach or at least like him/her and give them respect in order to get any back. But it seems like coaches are playing a negative part in athletes' lives now more than positive. Studies have shown that coaches are disrespecting their players, not giving them any motivation and absolutely crushing any hopes or dream they might have. Sport analysts have come up with a statistic that about seventy percent of youngsters drop out of sports and they are putting the blame on coaches and parents.

Furthermore, violent parents that are hard on their children about sports are looked down upon. Believe it or not but some parents beat their kids or even interfere at practice to embarrass their child in front of their team if they do something they do not like. I think this might have a little more effect on a young athlete because it is reinforced all the time, for example at the dinner table or on car rides. With coaches on the other hand, negative

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