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Parents
Handling Defeat
Sports are meant to be fun for everyone involved, and parents need to be supportive, act enthused about the sport, and keep it all in perspective by focusing on achievements, rather than miscues. Those attitudes will build the confidence a youngster needs to succeed, not just in sports, but in other activities as well. Parents are the earliest role models for children and, consequently, children carry over into sports the attitudes they have learned from their parents.
Parents want their kids to excel, to come out on top, and to be winners. Basking in their children's glory, reflected though it may be, evokes powerful emotions. Parents need to be prepared to handle defeat in an adult manner by praising the effort involved and avoiding a litany of "What you (or the team or the coach) should have done was . . . ". Most youngsters are usually well aware of their skill level and don't need to be told or made to feel somehow deficient when their team loses. Along with that caution, parents should recognize the achievement of the winning team and never criticize the officials or the coaches.
Coaches and officials are usually volunteers whose children are involved in the sport. Although they feel the same emotions as other parents who are spectators regarding their children's play, they also experience the pressure inherent in trying to remain objective about competitive situations when their own children are involved. Nevertheless, they must treat all players with equal respect and regard and follow the rules.
Children benefit from participating in sports, and the confidence gained carries over to other aspects of growing up, including working with others, developing self-discipline, learning good health habits, and acquiring self-esteem.
Excerpted from A Basic Guide to Softball by
the U.S. Olympic Committee.
© 1998 by Griffin Publishing Group
This
publication is a creative work fully protected by all applicable rights. All
rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any
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The material used in this publication is
the sole responsibility of Griffin Publishing Group.
The U.S. Olympic Committee
A Basic Guide to Softball: Olympic Edition
Paperback $8.95
© 1998, Griffin Publishing; ISBN:
1580000274
128 pages
For information
on purchasing the book from bookstores or here online, please go to the Web page for A Basic Guide to Softball (Griffin Publishing) or
A Basic Guide to Softball (Amazon).
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