For Parents of Athletes: Be a Cheerleader!
Raising an athlete of any talent level or any age is tough. In fact, very tough. Watching them go through ups and downs, triumphs and struggles, can be a emotional roller coaster and have you pulling your hair out over performance issues, coaches and crazy schedules.
You invest money and countless hours of your personal time. You sacrifice vacations and your own interests making sacrifices that most kids wont understand until they are older. Date nights with your spouse or partner become tournament weekends spent in a small town where the heat index is over 100 degrees and there isn't even a Chick-Fil-A in town.
Given the stress, it's easy to see why some parents take on roles like a coach, trainer, psychologist, instructor and detailed planner. It's hard to let go and trust in the process and have patience in your child's progress.
It's easy to forget you have ONE JOB to be successful as a parent of an athlete during competitive performances- BE A CHEERLEADER.
- A cheerleader is positive and doesn't critique performances.
- A cheerleader never walks away over a poor performance.
- A cheerleader knows their role. THEY ARE NOT THE COACH.
- A cheerleader doesn't try to control or manipulate situations and performance.
- A cheerleader greets players after the game with positive energy and believes in "process" over "outcome".
- A cheerleader helps create momentum and a positive attitude for the athlete, which in turn helps his or her mental game.
- A cheerleader creates a FUN environment allowing the athlete to ENJOY competition. Instead of demanding work ethic and practice, a cheerleader rewards those behaviors.
- So, start a new tradition this year as your son or daughter hit the course, field, or court and CHEER your way to a positive parenting experience. Stay in the "process" of being positive. You may just be surprised at the "outcome".
Betty Baird Kregor is an LPGA Master Teaching Professional and owner of StraightShot Inc., specializing in the DISC personality system to mentor and advise athletes of all ages and abilities.
In 2014, Kregor retired from over 27 years of teaching golf to consult athletes in the mental aspects of sport an serve as a "performance coach" for goals, scheduling, practice programs, college advising and more.
Her LPGA education in DISC profiling allows an athlete to maximize their performance with "self awareness" of their strengths and weaknesses. It is also an important tool in finding the right college fit. College athletic consulting is a service that benefits 9-12th graders in learning how to market their talents, schedule college visits and value the importance of academics.