When your child comes home and informs you that he or she wants to play a sport like soccer, it can be great. 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. The first is to be involved without being overly obsessive. If it is possible, try to attend as many practices as you can, but take note of whether or not you are distracting your son or daughter from what they need to do. It may become obvious that you are unintentionally distracting them because they are concerned about what you’ll think of them; don’t take it personally, just let them have some practices where they can concentrate on what they’re doing.
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. You can always be enthusiastic, of course, but if a child sees their parent become angry or disgusted by how their game is going, it could seriously undermine any joy your son or daughter receives from the game.
Probably the most important thing that a parent, coach, or any other adult involved with the game experience can do is to make sure that all corrections or advice given to the child to help their game is done in a positive manner. 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.
If your son or daughter is not kicking, trapping or heading the ball properly, the best thing to do is show them the proper techniques during the next practice, or practice it with them on their own. Kids generally learn pretty fast, so focus on teaching rather harsh public corrections.
This website will give you more information: Soccer tips
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