(In the past I have had what I call helicopter parents, who were too involved in their child’s progress. That prompted this post below. To be clear, the parents I work with today are awesome!!)
Well meaning parents! This is for you. Ten tips for racquetball parents. (I could actually do about a hundred of these!)
1. Your child is not the same as other children. They may be coached differently. That is a good thing.
2. If you believe you know more than the coach, start coaching. Your genius will show soon enough.
3. If you think there is something wrong with your child’s coach, you will find it.
4. If you think your child’s coach is great, you will find reasons to support that thought as well.
5. If you have to be at every practice every minute you could be micro-managing.
6. Any gains a coach might make with your child can be killed over a dinner table discussion when you bash said coach in front of your child.
7. Do you believe your child’s Coach has favorites?
8. Can your child defeat that child that is favored? If yes, you have an argument and if the answer is no, you may not!
10. Body language is huge. Tense looks, arms crossed, frowns, all put pressure on a child who looks back to see that. We all want our children to win. Unfortunately, it does not work like that. Often, you must lose before you win!
I suggest reading much of the literature out there including the USA Racquetball’s Safe Sport training. Most coaches work hard for their certification and want to do a good job. They want your child to succeed. Give them support and you might be surprised.