Do you as a parent feel comfortable sharing your thoughts with your skater’s coach? Or do you keep your mouth shut because you think you don’t know enough about skating?
You as a parent have a very important role in your child’s skating career.
Once your child skates long enough to compete for a few years, you will realize that it takes a village to raise a competitive skater.
Since we are talking about a sport, let me put it this way, your skater is surrounded by a team of experts.
Your child is the center.
Who do you think is the next important member of the skater’s team?
If you said “Coach” you would be wrong.
You the parent, whether you are at the rink for every session, or just drop your child off, are the most important part of your skater’s team.
Surprised?
“But we are talking Figure Skating, I have never skated in my life,’ you say.
This is my answer:
You are the expert on your child. You have and will spend much more time with them than the coach ever will.
You have valuable information to share. You know how your child thinks and responds to situations. What motivates them and what deflates them.
The coach is the expert on teaching skating. You are the expert on your child.
By combining your expertise with your child’s coach, you create the best environment for your child, the skater to learn and thrive in.
Your role is to be your child’s number one cheerleader and fan and to encourage and guide them during the good times and the hard times.
Once when my son was young, he did not pass a test and was crying. His coach at the time told me that he was going to be a little tough on my son in order to teach. He went on to say that it would be my job to be there to pick up the pieces.
I was grateful for that lesson early on, and it was the only situation of its kind. My son learned and became stronger from that experience as kids do. In hindsight, I realize that that lesson was not really for my son, but for me, so that I could pass it on to you all.
Skating is a beautiful sport and our children fall in love with it, but it is tough, and demanding.
Parents have a very important role as life teacher, care taker and role model. There will be many professionals that come and go but parents are forever.
Be there as a parent for your athlete…child.
You are supremely important just as you are.
Mental skills training can help to keep your emotions on an even keel so that you can practice and compete your best. Start here; download “Confidence Myth Busters,” a complimentary eBook and make a change.