The Car Ride Home

Watching our kids play sports is one of the most satisfying and terrifying experiences any parent can have. The wave of emotions that we encounter while our kid is on the field, court, or track can stir parents to want to help. The question is, how should they support their athlete?

• Encourage your athlete. All kids want to do their best when they are in competition. Embarrassment is a fear that many athletes face, especially young, inexperienced athletes. So, tell your kid how proud you are of them instead of focusing on how to fix them immediately after competition.

• Support your coaches and teammates. When teams face adversity, it is easy to blame teammates and coaches for losses. In sports, when teams are winning, people are satisfied (mostly). When teams are losing, everyone has an answer, or solution on how to fix the team. Never blame a coach, or your kids teammates for why your child wasn't successful. Trust the coaches expertise and encourage your athlete to motivate his/her peers. 

• Focus on how your child can ALWAYS grow and improve. Coaches make decisions on playing time based on ability, performance in practice, effort, and attitude. Competition is a natural part of life, and a big part of preparing our children for the real world. When we are internally motivated to be the best at whatever our hand finds to do, we will thrive. Why? Because we are doing it for the Lord, not man. 

• Remind your child that, first and foremost, they don't get their identity from sports, but from Jesus. Sports are a vehicle for us to develop Godly characteristics, it is not what defines us. While many of us would say this is what we believe, if the majority of our conversations with our kids center around their performance, they will internalize the wrong message and find their identity in the wrong things. 

• Comparison isn't the goal in competition. As an athlete, we should be encouraging our kids to earn their spot, not rooting for a teammate to fail. We should be both competing and encouraging to our teammates. 

We are excited about the new athletic opportunities that Valor is experiencing. Moving forward, we will face highs and lows together. The beauty of our school is that we encourage our students to face tough things. Likewise, in competition, we will face tough opponents. Together, we will beat tough opponents. Armor Up.