This great little video gives you some useful tips in helping you prepare your child for their big tournament or competition on the horizon….
Most young athletes perform best when they’re relaxed and happy, and that’s something you, as a parent, can genuinely influence.
Every child is different, but here are ten broad pieces of advice on what to do, and what to avoid, in the run-up to your child’s big event. “Big event” here covers anything from a cup final to a national championship.
But the overriding tip, above all the others, is this:
Don’t treat it like a big event.
It isn’t the Olympics. It’s children’s sport, so keep hold of that.
With that in mind, here are the ten top tips.
1. Avoid placing performance expectations on your child
This comes first because it matters most. Expectation builds anxiety. It’s a fun-destroyer and a performance-demolisher. If a child meets what was expected of them, all they’ve done is what was expected. It’s a relief, nothing more. If they fall short, they may feel they’ve let people down. It’s a no-win situation, and often one entirely outside their control. Instead, place your expectations on the things they can control, such as their conduct, attitude and effort.
2. Avoid researching and building profiles of opponents
You don’t need to “study the opposition” in children’s sport, and if you do, keep it to yourself. Talking about things outside a child’s control, like who they’re up against or how those players might perform, tends to raise anxiety rather than settle it. It also plants a quiet expectation. “You’re ranked in the top three going in” quickly becomes “you’re expected to get a medal”, which is exactly what we’re trying to avoid.
3. Don’t increase the number of practice sessions
Some parents assume an extra session or two will better prepare their child. In practice, the opposite tends to be true. Elite athletes taper their training before a major event, reducing the load so they arrive fresh and energised. As a coach, my rule with young athletes is no full sessions in the two days before a major weekend event. So if a young athlete normally trains on Tuesdays and Thursdays, their last session before a Saturday event is the Tuesday.
4. Keep things as normal as possible
Help your child keep the lead-up feeling ordinary, and that includes acting normally yourself. Don’t suddenly talk about nothing else or relate every conversation back to the event. On the day, even during the warm-up, I’ll often ask an athlete about school or what they watched on TV the night before. It helps them relax and takes their mind off the competition.
5. Avoid new things
Don’t introduce anything new on the day in the hope it’ll boost performance. That means no new foods or drinks, no shoes worn for the first time and no untested warm-up routine.
6. Avoid motivational speeches
Resist the urge to “pump up” your child before the event. Most young athletes don’t need motivating, and trying to fire them up can just as easily breed resentment.
7. Be mindful of your body language
I’m naturally a pacer. I’ve been told I look like an expectant father before a competition. As a coach, I have to be careful not to pace up and down before or during an event, and sometimes I’ll sit down deliberately just to stop myself. When I look relaxed, it helps the athletes. When I look jittery, that rubs off too. The same applies to you as a parent: your child will pick up on your nerves.
8. Don’t offer incentives
I regularly hear about parents offering gifts or money for a good performance in the hope it will motivate their child. All it really does is raise the stakes in the child’s mind. If there’s a reward on the table, it must be a big deal. Never bribe a child to perform.
9. Keep things simple
Don’t send your child out with a head full of instructions, strategies or last-minute advice. My final words to an athlete before they compete are always the same: “Good luck, have fun.”
10. Relax and enjoy it
Choose to stay relaxed and enjoy the experience alongside your child. Your mood will shape theirs, so make sure it helps rather than hinders.
Thank you to Darren Wensor (Australia), sports development professional, coach educator, specialist coach of young athletes and a great supporter of our site, for contributing this video and allowing us to reproduce this article. You can find out more about his work at coachingyoungathletes.com.
