Beagoodsportparent.
Childrenoftenget started ina sport becauseof theirparents’wishes. This isnot a
bad thingnecessarily. It isnatural that parentswouldwant their kids tobe involved
inanactivity that theparentsenjoy. Problems canoccur howeverwhen thechild’s
sport becomesoverly important for theparent.We’veall seencaseswhere the
parentwants to liveout theirowndreams through their child. Whenachild’s
success (or lackof it)becomesoverly important to theparent, thechildwill often
stopenjoying their sport and theywill quit.
Parentswantwhat isbest for their child, but at times, parents canbeconfusedor
mistakenaboutwhat truly is thebest thing.Agood sport parent isonewho is
supportive, interested, involvedandenthusiasticwithout pushing toohard. They
allow thechild todevelop theirown loveof the sport and let themdecide if and
when theywant toget seriousabout it.All of thekids I haveknown,whowent on to
begreat competitive skiers, hadahuge love for it. Theywere thekidswhowere first
on the lift in themorningandcatching last rideat theendof theday. Theywerealso
often theoneswhogot into troublewith the ski patrol for catching toomuchair.
So let your kids find theirown loveof the sport. If theyhave that love, theywill
benefit enormously from it, andwhoknows,maybe that lovewill bring them to the
Olympics someday.And if it doesn’t, that’s fine too—hopefully, youwill all
continue to ski together formanyyears tocome.
|E|
Doug Findlay - Ski Coach at Georgian Peaks - Level 3 CSCF; Level 3 CSIA - has been coaching kids for over 40 years.
When a child’s
success (or lack
of it) becomes
overly important
to the parent, the
childwill often
stop enjoying
their sport and
theywill quit.
They were the kids who were first
on the lift in the morning and
catching the last ride at the
end of the day.
PHOTO | CARA WILLIAMS
WINTER
2015
|
17
