One of the goals of most coaches is to develop the whole child rather than base success solely on sports skills and awards. Children learning and adjusting to their youth sports experiences will grow into more well-adjusted "ready" young adults. The scrapes, the pain, the challenges, the disappointments, and the comebacks all help to mold a better-prepared young adult for life after parents and coaches.
Life isn't all pluses. Life isn't always a beautiful morning. Life is about some sleepless nights and sometimes overwhelming challenges, and we all have been there. And continue to be there. We owe it to our children to guide them through some rough patches when they are young so that they can obtain the tools to handle more serious situations later. When they must rely on themselves.
Youth sports are a laboratory of learning. It is not helpful to shield our children from challenging situations. A gymnast can compete with a scraped knee. An 8-year-old shortstop should go back out there the inning after he made 2 errors.
If we protect our children from strike three, if we overreact to a fall off the beam, if we think that the earth will stop if our child doesn't get a trophy at every competition, we are not doing our jobs as coaches and parents. The vast majority of children are resilient. Children can adapt.
The children of our ancestors survived the "go slop the hogs" before going to school. Do we overprotect our children today? Let's not deprive our children of the wonderful experience of "overcoming."
Tom Burgdorf – Author
Email: Tom@gymnetsports.com Web Site: www.Gymnetsports.net Face Book: Tom Burgdorf