Have you ever been to a soccer game, where the only thing that comes to mind is those parents who take the spotlight away from the players? These Parents place too much emphasis on themselves as a factor on the field. Well, anyway most of us can recall a time when a parent got over-involved with a game and disrupted its natural progression.

Adults! We are playing soccer, not hunting for food. Take the emphasis down a notch or two. The more you have an anxious, or over aggressive attitude toward the game, the more the game suffers (as well as your kids). So Chill! That is a technical word that every player knows.
 
I can understand knocking someone down and saying you didn’t do it if you are hungry and need nourishment, but if it is to say you won or lost a game that doesn’t mean anything for the first 16 years (only at the highest levels). 
 
Danger! We all get tense when it is our own son or daughter on the field, but let the intensity come from within the players in a fair manner. Don’t super-impose your ambitions of “winning” at all costs to dominate the mental thought processes of your players. If the coach has focused on the right training methods in practice, then the “winning” will take care of itself.

Teach and support players to be proactive, not vindictive. Remember that youth soccer should be kept fun, where the style and skills of the game should be stressed most, always above “winning.”

Parents, let’s leave the intense atmosphere for the High School games and beyond! Saturday fields, and youth soccer, are great places to have fun.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 28th, 2007 at 11:00 pm and is filed under Front Volley (Ezine). You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.