The ‘parent problem’
No matter how good our coaching and the sporting environment we create is, or what we choose to celebrate and focus upon, it can all be undone in the home environment if the parents are not given the right levels of support.
Coaches often bemoan that parents deliver conflicting messages to their children without investing in the time to support and encourage parents to ‘sing from the same hymn sheet’.
Parents are an essential member of the athlete support network and are a critical part of your team that supports the inter-disciplinary thinking towards the social, emotional and behavioural development of their child and your athlete.
Some coaches still believe that the best way forward is to have little or no involvement whatsoever with parents, often taking the ‘leave them at the door’ attitude. Other coaches moan that they are used by parents as a cheap ‘babysitting service’ and would love to have more engagement with their athlete’s parents.
Whatever your current views, we need to remember that the athlete must remain at the heart of the experience and parents have the most influential role. They have significant contact time with their child, travel to and from training, make decisions on where their children play and train, and inform their child around commitment and engagement.
The diagram below is a great visual reminder that the athlete remains at the centre of all decisions.