Parenting Athletes and Enjoying the Journey

Parenting your athlete can be one of the most enjoyable experiences you, as a parent, can have. It can also be incredibly stressful and trying, causing many sleepless nights as your athlete navigates their way through the highs and lows that come with participation in a team or individual sport.

Here are a few key pointers for parents that can help their athlete perform at a higher level, find more enjoyment in participating in sports, and help parents 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.
• Understand how thoughts and emotions impact performance.
• Understand the importance of time management, sleep, diet, etc. a can have as a parentleading to many sleepless nights as your athlete navigates the highs and lows that come with participatingnd how they impact performance.

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