Saturday, March 3, 2007

The Ultimate Sports Parent Radio Show

We recently received an email for John about The Ultimate Sports Parent Radio Show (podcast). Here is what John had to say…

Lisa,

I listening to several of your podcast and found them very interesting. However, the suggestions given by your guests are very slanted towards the coach's perspective and not the players or parents.

They seem to think that the coach is always right and the parents need to help the kids adapt. The whole point of some of your show topics is that there are bad coaches or coaches who simply make mistakes and we need to address that.

I sense that you understand this and push your guest to address this but they just don't get it. Telling a kid to play better so he too can be a coach favorite isn't very sound advice. Telling a kids that he/she needs to perform when they get the opportunity is too much pressure.

Thanks for listening,

And my sister Lisa’s response:

John,

Thanks so much for giving us feedback about our Ultimate Sports Parent Radio podcast. You're suggesting that some of our guests focus only on the coach's point of view--not on the parent's or athlete's.

You also suggest that parents need some help coping with bad coaches or coaches who make mistakes. I agree! As a longtime sports parent (our four kids are 8-18), my biggest problem has been dealing with coaches.

In our Ultimate Sports Parent workbook/CD program, we address this issue in detail. We even tell parents when they should try to find another coach. I can provide you with some of our suggestions, if you're interested.

I also addressed this issue in a story I wrote for the Christian Science Monitor called "Teaching Parents to Be Better Sports." That story is on our website,
http://www.youthsportspsychology.com/ under the articles section.

Again, thanks for listening and giving us feedback! Feel free to give us more suggestions.

Sincerely,

Lisa Cohn, award-winning sports parenting writer

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