For many parents of youth athletes, the moment they begin to see their child enjoying success in their respective sport their mind begins to wander, dreaming of the day their son or daughter will receive a college scholarship. Unfortunately, the statistics are against that from happening as approximately only 1 in 13 high school seniors in sports will actually play at the college level, much less receive a scholarship to play their sport.
So what do you, as a parent or a coach, need to do in order to help your child be one of those 13?
Here’s the reality of the situation. In order for your son or daughter to develop into a high school or college athlete they need to be prepared to make sacrifices. A combination of factors will eventually contribute to the development of the youth athlete. Deliberate training, coaching, how they handle peer pressure, and a whole slew of things go into the development of athletes. But before going out and hiring a private coach or mental guru to help your child handle the pressure of competing, something more important has to happen. They have to fall in love with the game.
They have to love the process of mastering a skill, a technique. They have to be hungry to learn more, to be tested and willing to test themselves without the supervision of a parent or coach. It’s going to take countless hours, often alone, in order to develop their skills to the point they can truly differentiate their ability from their peers.
It truly is a sacrifice, a willingness to push themselves outside of their comfort zone in order to realize their true potential. And most importantly, it’s the youth athlete that has to want it, not their parent or coach.
Our most important role as youth coaches and parents of kids involved in sports is to create a culture that allows the kids the opportunity to fall in love with the game. It takes a love, a true passion for the sport to drive the athlete to be willing to suffer and make the sacrifices necessary to achieve their potential.
