Soccer is a team sport that is an excellent addition to a child’s life, so it’s great when your son or daughter says they want to play. Certainly, it may mean some extra work on your part, driving the child to and from practice, going to games and all of that, but also it means that your son or daughter is about to embark on a very significant experience that will greatly affect the rest of their life. Team sports can create an excellent foundation for basic concepts that are needed throughout the rest of their life, like working together in a team, organization, strategy and bonding with your teammates.
Of course you will want your kid to have fun and be encouraged to keep going with the sport and there are a few things you can do to help with that. A great deal of their experience with soccer or any other sport will have to do with you, so you want to make sure that you are there to be supportive without going to the extreme of being overbearing. Pay attention to how they are acting; be ready to step back and allow them to attend practices without you if you notice that your presence is distracting them. Chances are you’ll still get your bonding time with them when they want to tell you all about what happened at practice afterwards.
Also be aware of yourself and the image you are portraying to your kids and their friends when you do watch the games or practices. Always try to be as encouraging and supportive as you can without letting your child see you come unglued by a bad call or an improperly performed maneuver.
Most importantly, the goal of children’s sporting events should always be fun. Yelling at a kid because they don’t kick, trap or head the ball correctly will only serve to reduce their own self confidence in their abilities. If they don’t seem to be doing a move properly, the best thing to do is take them aside and demonstrate how it’s done, maybe explain to them why it’s done that way and so on.
Above all, make sure that all the criticism given is done in a positive and constructive way with an attitude of teaching, whenever you or anyone else is helping your child with their techniques. Demonstrate how to kick, trap or head the ball, and tell them why it is important to do so; with positive reinforcement they will learn very quickly.
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