How Parents Can Get Involved in Kids’ Sports—Within Reason
As a parent, you know it’s important to support your kids’ activities, but there’s a fine line between helping the team and overdoing it. How can parents get involved in kids’ sports without embarrassing them? Or incurring a penalty from the referee? Or going viral as a “Mom Gone Mental” video? Let this be your guide.
Youth sports teams need help—a lot of help. The duties seem to always fall to the same couple of parents, who get to the games an hour ahead of time and are there long after, breaking down equipment. If everyone pitches in a little, teams run more smoothly, and more kids can see how much their parents care.
But y’all have seen the footage of irritating moms and dads getting too loud in the bleachers or harassing coaches to give their kids more playing time. Make no mistake: These coaches are saints, donating their time and patience to instill a love of sports in your kids. They do not need to worry about parental politics or whether Doritos should be permitted on the snack sign-up sheet.
Focus your efforts on what team needs are not being met, rather than second-guessing what other parents are doing. Not every role needs to be a big one. Let your kids see that you are available to help without taking over. How you behave will teach them as much about being a good teammate as the sport itself. Here are a few ways to contribute that are always welcome.
Keeping Score
It’s harder than you might think, objectively watching the action without getting distracted by how far out of position Junior is. Get trained to do it, and then be ready to jump in.
Snack Backups
There’s nothing worse than halftime without snacks—or being the parent who forgot them. Be a silent hero and keep a stock of treats in your trunk. Be careful not to alarm parents with junk food or disappoint the kids with something too healthy. You’re safe with oranges, apple squeezers, dried fruit, nut-free trail mixes, graham crackers, and teeny water bottles.
Bonding Activities
There are a lot of ways for kids to bond via video conferencing, whether it’s sharing strategies or performing a dance challenge. You can also organize theme games to bring everyone together over a common cause, such as breast cancer awareness, adding team accessories like socks or ribbons to make the day more special.
Cheers All Around
Do everyone a favor and put a list of the team players and their numbers on a 3×5 card for parents to keep in their wallets. During games, they can refer to it and cheer all the players by name.
Everyone should learn how parents can get involved in kids’ sports positively by contributing to the team without being a distraction or complication. Youth sports have the potential to be tremendously rewarding, or they can contribute to kids’ insecurities. Do your part to make the experience a win.
