When your kids love sports!

Nobody Said Parenting Was Going To Be Easy.

Here it is. I love sports. I do. If there is a metaphor for LIFE, it comes from playing sports: You work hard, you pay attention, you listen, you focus - you SUCCEED. You do things half-assed, you let your mind wander, you don’t listen, you don’ focus - you DON’T succeed. Pretty simple.

(Yes, of course there are outliers, there are “team” results that make is seem like you are succeeding, but as all sports fans know - your “record” doesn’t necessarily equate to how good you are.)

I know that I am secretly ecstatic that my daughter is a “sporty girl.” She loves watching all kids of different sports with her dad. My son (he’s 3) could care less….but, the kid can connect with just about any “Nerf Ball” pitch I throw to him.

So, how do you cultivate a “Love of Sports” with you kids?

Here are some suggestions.

1) Take them to different sporting events.

We took the kids to the Cleveland Monsters game. My daughter absolutely loved it. She cheered - loudly - the entire game. She doesn’t even know the rules of hockey. She was bummed that there wasn’t a fight!

A few weeks later we got tickets to the Cavs game. Not only could she not wrap her mind around the fact that the arena could do BOTH hockey & basketball…she was over the moon once we were at the game. She came home almost unable to speak because she was cheering so much.

Get your kids to as many sporting events as you can! It almost doesn’t matter what the sport is. Heck, I would take my kids to a Team Handball game if we had one!

2) PLAY WITH THEM!

This one is TWO PRONGED.

One, we have to be able to play with them. That means taking care of yourself physically. There is nothing worse than having to say, “Sorry buddy, I can’t.” to your son or daughter because you can’t physically go out and throw the ball for more than 5 minutes. So, GET YOUR BODY READY FOR SOME HARD PLAY!

Two, little ones are not necessarily ready to go out and play a game of organized football. BUT, they will have no problem going out and playing football with dad. The more you can expose them to “playing” different sports, the more likely they are to find one they like and go for it!

3) Don’t force a particular sport on them.

It really doesn’t matter if you were the All-State quarterback on your high school team. You can not re-live your glory days through your kids. Don’t force your sport on them because you loved it.

The opposite is true as well. I was a swimmer through high school and college. I know the level of time and commitment it takes to succeed in the sport. The last thing I wanted was my son or daughter to get into swimming. But, because God has a sense of humor, my daughter has taken to swimming…and darn it - she loves it. Am I going to discourage her from doing it? Heck no.

Expose them to different sports. Let them find the one that speaks to them.

By the way, they do not need to be Olympic level at age 9. Give them a chance.

4) Encourage them.

You already know what it’s like when you start something new. Even now as an adult, things are strange. You are not “the best” at your new endeavor. It takes TIME to find your footing and - in the long run - find your mastery of the task.

Now, realize your level of experience and maturity - realize they DO NOT have the same amount of life skills. It will take them TIME to build mastery around their sport. So, just because Little Ricky isn’t throwing 5 strikeouts a game in little league, doesn’t mean you go harder on him. ENCOURAGE him! Let him know…this all takes TIME, PATIENCE, PERSISTENCE and FOCUS.

5) Be Honest with them.

It is HARD to be truly honest with your child when their heart is ripped out of their chest in a crushing defeat. But, if Wendy lost a race by a whopping 6 seconds - and she hasn’t put the work in - you can’t sugar coat it. You’ve got to let her know that the outcome is a direct reflection of the amount of work put in.

We’ve also got to let them know that you’re not going to win every time! Even Michael Phelps didn’t win every race he ever swam. Defeat happens. The most important part of defeat is - are you going to get back up? Are you going to learn from your defeat? Is it going to make you stronger?

It can be a hard lesson, but one of the most important ones you can learn.

I wrote a post on the importance of sport a while ago.

Sport is essential to developing a well rounded child. There are an endless number of lessons that can be learned from sports.

It’s our job to cultivate a love of sport in our kids.

Let’s do the right thing. Help them GROW into sports.