Parenting Athletes and Enjoying the Journey

Parenting your athlete can be one of the most enjoyable experiences you can have as a parent. It can also be incredibly stressful and trying, leading to many sleepless nights as your athlete navigates the highs and lows of participating in a team or individual sport.

Here are a few key pointers for parents that can help their athlete perform at a higher level, enjoy participating in sports more, and help them enjoy the remarkable journey of parenting their athlete.

Parents must...

• Understand how their child/athlete responds to stress and pressure
• Understand how stress and pressure change the way they parent their child/athlete
• Understand how they can become an important and positive contributor to the athlete/coach/parent system
• Understand how perfectionism impacts performance, quality of life, health, and self-esteem, and how to counter the perfectionistic personality
• Understand how your child/athlete’s unique personality is so critical to performance
• Understand ”Tank Filling’ versus “Tank Draining” parenting styles
• Understand the “Business and Personal“ sides of your relationship with your child/athlete
• Understand how to manage their stress response by following this simple formula: Event + Response = Outcome
• Understand Introverted and Extroverted personality styles and effective ways to parent both styles
• Understanding of how thoughts and emotions impact performance
• Understand the importance of time management, sleep, diet, etc., and how they impact performance.

To have Robert Andrews talk to your parent group, Booster Club, or organization about parenting athletes, contact Robert or call (713) 522-2200.