How Parents Can Help Sports Kids Stay Safe
It’s hard to read the stories about members of the USA Gymnastics Team being harassed and abused by the team’s doctor.
And it’s easy to worry about such dangers.
Kids who are bullied, abused or harassed as sports kids can suffer throughout their lives. In the least, they’ll have a hard time concentrating on their sport, and their confidence will suffer.
Parents can help their sports kids avoid such problems, says Chris Trieste, a veteran educator with extensive experience in coaching, teaching, and educational leadership. He has served as a teacher, athletic director and administrator.
“My background in the public schools,” he says. “This can happen. You can take steps to try to avoid these kind of things.”
First of all, be sure coaches and others involved with kids undergo background checks, he says.
Second, train sports kids about what’s appropriate and not appropriate from coaches and other adults—and tell them how to take action.
Third, parents need to be on the lookout for coaches and other adults who abuse, harass or bully kids. They should not avoid talking to such coaches out of fear that their kids will lose playing time or hurt their sports careers, he says.
What’s most important is that sports kids are safe.
And if your kid’s team is the only team in town, you still need to speak up. You might offer to start a new team and coach it.
“Parents see that their child’s entire career could be disrupted if they speak up,” he says. But that’s a bad reason to be silent. Consider the long-term consequences of letting kids be bullied, harassed or abused.
“There have to be checks and balances. It can’t be a dictatorship,” Trieste says.
After talking to a coach, parents may need to talk to the school or league administrators about any concerns they might have.
You can learn more about this topic by listening to our interview with Trieste here:
Stay Confident in The Face of Bullies!
Stay Confident in The Face of Bullies!Want to learn how to help your young athletes stay confident when faced with bullies?
Check out our program called, “Helping young athletes stay confident and mentally tough in the face of bullies”, where coaches, parents, and athletes will learn how to deal with and overcome bullying in sports.
Parents will learn: Why athletes and coaches bully, how much bullies hurt sports kids’ performance and enjoyment in sports, why kids often drop out when they’re bullied, powerful, proven sports psychology tips for ensuring sports kids remain confident and mentally tough in the face of bullying, how kids can stay focused when bullies strike, how kids can refocus when approached by bullies, and many more!
Athletes will learn: Why bullies act the way they do in sports, what mental game issues make kids susceptible to being bullied in sports, how to stay focused when they’re distracted by bullies, how to keep their confidence when intimidated, harassed, and insulted by bullies, how to avoid making comparisons when bullies point out weaknesses, and many more!
Check Out: “Helping young athletes stay confident and mentally tough in the face of bullies”
Available Now: “10-Minute Pregame Prep”
Young athletes and their parents and coaches tell us that sports kids often struggle with these pregame mental game challenges:
- They feel pressure to excel from expectations they feel from others
- They focus too much on the outcome instead of the process
- They fail to take charge of their confidence before the compete
- They don’t trust in their skills when they go from practice to competition
- They hang on to mistakes and dwell in them in competition
- They worry too much about what others think about their performance
- They tighten up and play safe when they feel pressure to succeed
- They interpret pregame jitters as harmful to their performance
“10 Minute Pregame Prep” will tell you everything you need to know about ensuring your sports kids avoid classic mental game pitfalls before a game, learn how to trust their instincts, and just go for it. It provides lots of advice for you, too…
With our program, you can stop wondering what to do and relax before your kids’ games!
Learn more about “10-Minute Pregame Prep”….
Sign up for our free report to receive weekly emails and tips:
“10 Tips to Improve Confidence And Success in Young Athletes”
Help Young Athletes Boost Confidence in Sports!
Do your young athletes:
- Criticize themselves often after making mistakes?
- Freeze up and look scared when faced with competitive pressure?
- Lose confidence after working with a negative coach?
- Perform like stars in practice but freeze up or play tentatively during games or competitions?
If so, check out The Ultimate Sports Parent!
The Ultimate Sports Parent will teach you powerful mental toughness secrets to improve your child’s success in sports.
Get proven strategies form leading youth sports experts!
The Ultimate Sports Parent: a 14-Day Plan For Kids’ Success in Sports
What are sports parents saying?
“The Ultimate Sports Parent Workbook Program totally changed our families approach to sports and I am so very grateful. My boys 7 and 10 are able to deal better with negative coaches, perform without fear, and focus way less results and focus better the process. One boy was amazingly able to regain composure and end the season with a positive attitude. I am on your web site all the time and am currently beginning The Confident Athlete series.”
~Sarah Bateman, Sports Parent
“We have purchased all of your CD’s, my child has gone through The Focused, Confident, Composed, and Fearless Athlete Programs. And I just listened to the Ultimate Sports Parent CD. I can’t tell you enough how helpful these have been. My child just played in a major competition and he maintained total composure, fought in competition mode not training mode, was totally confident. THANK YOU! I really believe that God lead me to your web site.”
~Sports Parent
Leave a Reply