ThoreauClubWinterMagazine1_19

Raising Athletes ADVICE FOR PARENTS By:Tim Mayotte I often think of an old prayer my mom used to say to herself when she got stressed out. It says, I paraphrase, “Give me the strength to change what I can, the patience to accept what I can’t, and the wisdom to know the difference.” This is a wonderful guideline for parents. We want our children to be able to focus and work hard during the process of getting better, but without getting too anxious about winning or losing. That is because winning and losing are out of their control. Every day at practice we focus on helping kids find patience to tolerate setbacks. The most important thing a parent and coach can do is encourage them to work hard on what they can control and help them understand what they can’t. The things they can control boil down to effort and preparation. They can’t control the outcome. Your reinforcement of these basic tenets will help your player learn over time to become better. I hope this helps you. I know it helped my Irish mom when she got nervous. Do not talk about a match right after a loss. Help the player learn how to prepare by eating and sleeping well the night before and getting up early and warming up properly. Encourage them and reinforce good effort. Tell them to talk to the coaches about specifics from the match. COACH TIPS: 11 LEARN MORE AT WWW.THOREAU.COM - Tim Mayotte