We drive, We pay, We Cheer, We hope!

The parents are often cast as the villain in minor soccer, but without them the entire system crumbles. They are financing the entire game in this Province and they are entitled to have a say. So have your say!

I agree as long as we remember that we are there to support and at the end of the day the game is for the kids. We owe it to our children to ensure that they continue to have fun at this GAME.

I will bite.

When my daughter was up and dressed to go to soccer last year at 6am on Saturday & Sunday morning to Bryst soccer academy, I knew she was happy.

When she came to me and said, 'do I have to go tomorrow?' this fall, I knew she wasn't happy. It wasn't a case of being lazy, but the realization that what she was putting in wasn't = 2 what she was getting out!

Same goes for soccer practice with the Club. As a parent, we have to read our children and talk to them about their feelings. They are not always going to be happy, but can you say you are happy everyday? Sometimes they just have to 'cowboy up'! Suck it up and get at it!

Things are never as bad as they seem and often not as good as we hope they will be!

Everyone has a different interpretation of FUN ... and one is not 'more right' than the other. By the way, fun is a very misleading word that is always unclear and left to interpretation.

I am pleased that the strict player movement restrictions that exist in hockey do not exist in soccer. People are 'almost' free to go where they please .. not based on the fact they may just happen to live in the same part of town, but they can join like-minded people that share the same ambitions and ideas of what will help them achieve their version of FUN.

For some, fun = goofing off ... for others, fun may be the pursuit of something a little more serious, related strictly to the sport and all it has to offer .. and who is anyone to force a kid to "lighten up" if they happen to thrive in a more serious environment and enjoy the challenges of competitive sport? I have seen players tune out programs that were too "intense" .. and I have also seen players tune out programs that are too much (insert your own definition here).

1_UNORTHODOX_COACH wrote:My idea of fun is tying all the parents to the goalpost and lettnig me strike the ball at them until I run out of soccer balls...

Then you will love this one-

Hockey dads and soccer moms
Monday November 26 2007

By Sonia McDonald






Sound like a stereotype? It most definitely is, but there are many parents who can be categorized as "intense sports parents." You all know at least one!
Everyday, across the country, millions of children are involved in sporting events of one kind or another. They suit up and head out to play soccer, football, baseball, they box or skate or dance, but growing problems of intense sports parents are plaguing children's sports. These parents run the gamut. From the overzealous to the obnoxious to the aggressive, every one of them harms not only the game, but the children involved.
Why do sports stop being fun for kids? In many cases, it's the well-intentioned moms and dads that take the fun out of sports for their kids. From screaming at the officials to coaching from the sidelines, these overzealous parents not only embarrass their children, but increase the amount of pressure for the child to perform to unattainable heights.
Think about it from the child's perspective. You are 10 years old and playing soccer. Your coach tells you to go to the net, but your mom is screaming at you to get the ball. What would you do? If you are like most children, you listen to Mom and ignore the coach. After all, you have to live with her after the game. What is the outcome? You aren't there to stop the other team from scoring a goal. Thanks, Mom! Now you are disappointed in yourself, and to make matters worse, you can already hear the lecture you will get in the car on the way home for not stopping that goal. Sound like fun?
If you take a moment to look at it from the coach's perspective, you could see frustration, anxiety and tremendous pressure. For example, you are coaching a young person, and you are pushing them to the extent of their abilities and you are working with them at their level. In comes a parent to "push" their child a little and tell them to "work harder," "run faster," and "don't be so lazy." They have just yelled at the kid, embarrassed them and made them feel terrible. How much focus and effort will you be getting from them now? Not so fun!
When we as parents entrust coaches with teaching our kids the rules of the game, techniques and strategies, we have to let them do their job. It may look to parents as though their child is not working as hard as they would like them to or they are not performing well, but coaches have the ability to assess the situation and push them when they need to be pushed and ease off when necessary. That is their responsibility.
In organized sports like hockey or soccer, parents can become preoccupied with the fairness of the calls or the attention to detail. This can cause someone to become aggressive.
Parent behaviour aside, how are kids feeling? I can tell you that they are embarrassed, anxious and often stressed about the behaviour of their parents who are watching.
Parents can ruin children's sports in many ways, but the most common, according to kids, are:
* yelling at a child for errors or mistakes;
* yelling at the umpires or the opposition during a game;
* criticizing umpires and opposition;
* putting a coach down in discussion with their child about practice or a game;
* putting all the emphasis on winning; and
* making exaggerated facial expressions or hand signals to them while they are playing or competing.
Many of us have been guilty of one or more of these complaints. As responsible sports parents, it is our responsibility to entrust our kids to the capable hands of their coaches, encourage them, limit our opinions and let them have fun.