Virtual Sport Psych

Encouraging Positive Parental Involvement in Junior Elite Sports

July 8, 2024

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Right now, it’s the season for many international junior championships. Athletes have been working incredibly hard, and their dedication has paid off as they qualify or get nominated to represent their countries. This is a moment of pride for them and their families. However, it’s also a time of significant stress.

Athletes feel the pressure to perform well and prove that their hard work was worth it. Sometimes, they also want to succeed for their parents, who have supported their training efforts. Parents, on the other hand, are anxious because they want their children to succeed and be happy. They want to provide the best support but might not always know how. Coaches face their own stress, managing not just the athletes but often parents as well.

In applied sport psychology, working with parents is a crucial component, that is sometimes neglected. Including parents in the process is vital because they have their own needs and concerns. When parents feel heard and understood, they can better support their children, which in turn helps the athletes perform better. It also makes the coaches’ job easier, allowing for more effective coaching and smoother interactions during the championships.

Today, let’s explore some ideas and perspectives on how to engage with athletes’ parents, making them feel recognized and valued. This approach not only helps the athletes and coaches but also creates a more supportive and successful environment for everyone involved.

Let’s get better together…

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

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THOUGHTS OF THE WEEK

Parents play a crucial and significant role in the sports ecosystem, profoundly influencing the athletic development and experiences of their children. It’s important to note that the majority of parents fulfill this role in an exceptionally positive way. However, there are also instances where parents can hinder their children’s development. A few years ago, coaches, athletes, and other parents in a sports association told me about a father who regularly made loud outbursts from the stands during competitions. Despite never advancing beyond ambitious amateur sports himself, his daughter’s success was extremely important to him. During one of his 14-year-old daughter’s games, where she wasn’t performing as he expected, he stood up and shouted, “That is not my daughter!” before leaving the hall. You can imagine the impact this had on the athlete, especially the child behind the athlete.

In preparation for the upcoming Junior European Championships at that time, I discussed with the head coach how we could encourage this father to behave more supportively, as he planned to travel to the championships. To maintain dignity for him and his daughter, and also reach more parents, we offered and conducted workshops for all parents of the athletes nominated for the championships. In these workshops, we worked together on their concerns and needs, how to handle stress, and the necessary behaviors to support their athletes during the championships.

When addressing concerns and needs, it’s crucial for me that parents feel heard. In sports, especially in junior sports, we work within a system known as the Athletic Triangle, consisting of the athlete, the parents, and the coach (Smith et al., 1989). Ignoring the needs of one party, particularly the parents, means neglecting a vital part of this system. Once parents feel acknowledged and understood, coaches and athletes have a better chance of comprehending their perspective and collaboratively finding solutions to tackle potential problems and challenges.

Parents also experience stress for various reasons when their children compete (Harwood & Knight, 2009), why I believe that it’s essential to also help parents develop coping mechanisms. In workshops and individual conversations, parents often share different stressors they struggle to manage. Even small strategies can be incredibly helpful for parents. Additionally, I’ve found that interactions among parents can be highly beneficial, as they realize they are not alone in experiencing stress, which can be very relieving. Learning from other parents about how they handle stress is also very insightful. This peer-teaching is a significant advantage of workshops, as participants learn from peers they can relate to and compare themselves with. This mutual learning can enhance self-efficacy expectations, enabling parents to better manage stress during their children’s competitions in the future (Bandura, 1978).

Finally, we focused on supportive behaviors, and what being supportive really means. In one workshop, we first discussed the children’s goals for the Junior European Championships. Then, we brainstormed what parents could do to ensure their children (Attention!) do NOT achieve these goals. Initially, this approach surprises people. “Why not achieve? We want the children to be successful!” Correct, but discussing what needs to be done for success often leads to vague, standard answers. By considering what actions would prevent success, we can freely explore our creativity and subsequently reflect on behaviors that should be avoided, even if they’re commonly exhibited. The Pre-Mortem method (Klein, 2007) is excellent for identifying weaknesses in projects or behaviors, which is why I use it in various contexts. At the end of the workshop, parents developed and signed an agreement to guide their behavior at the Junior European Championships.

To conclude the workshop, I showed a video I discovered a few years ago, which I find very impressive. In this video, different young athletes from various sports talk about their experiences with their parents during training and competitions, what it does to them, and what they wish from their parents. he quote above is from the video, and I believe it perfectly encapsulates what athletes wish from their parents. If you want to use the video in your work, the video is titled The Truth About Sports Parents by the organization I Love To Watch You Play on YouTube. I highly recommend it.

To sum it all up, I believe it’s not about managing parents but integrating them. By achieving this, we create an environment where more mutual understanding can develop, leading to better personal and athletic development for the athletes, less stress for the coaches, and greater confidence among the parents.

CHUCK NORRIS JOKE OF THE WEEK

Chuck Norris doesn’t need to cheer loudly; his presence alone boosts team morale and performance.

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