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

Sports Parenting is Hard - My Sister Knows Firsthand

Lisa Cohn here - Patrick's sister - from The Ultimate Sports Parent (www.youthsportspsychology.com). You may know that I’m a youth soccer coach and a sports mom to four young athletes aged 8 to 18. Our kids dance, skate, ski, run cross-country, and play soccer, Lacrosse, football and basketball.

As a sports parent, I’ve dealt with sports kids who:
* Are stars in practice but choke up during competition (and then get angry at themselves)
* Worry too much about what their coaches and teammates think of them.
* Don’t know how to communicate with coaches who give negative feedback, and
* Feel pressured to play—even when they are sick or injured.

These are just a few of the tough situations I’ve faced over the past 13 years, since our oldest first began playing sports at age 5. These are challenging situations, and I can tell you, the answers aren’t easy to come by!

For example, what do you say to a child or teen who regularly gets angry at himself for making mistakes during a game? We address this exact challenge for kids and sports parents in our new workbook program, The Ultimate Sports Parent.

Here’s a tip: You can help your child change his expectations about making mistakes. Sometimes kids try to be too perfect on the playing fields and expect to not make any mistakes. Modifying their expectations can help them perform without the burden of constant frustration.

Dealing with kids’ expectations is just one common challenge. Every day as sports parents, you face so many tough—and interesting—situations. Believe me, how you react to these issues is critical to your child’s self-confidence and success as an athlete! (I’ve made enough mistakes to know).

To answer the above questions and the many more questions sports parents ask themselves every day, I’ve teamed up with my brother, Dr. Patrick Cohn, a leading sports psychology expert.

We’ve just released a cutting-edge new program, "The Ultimate Sports Parent: A 14-Day Plan for Kids’ Success in Sports." In this program, we identify the top seven "inner game" challenges for sports parents and the top seven "mental game" challenges for kids.

We also explain how sports parents can:
* Decide how much pressure is too much pressure
* Use proven strategies to motivate their kids to play to their abilities
* Help young athletes stop worrying about what everyone thinks
* Guide children as they cope with frustration, anger and heartache in sports
* Deal with kids' difficult or negative coaches
* Teach kids no one is perfect in athletics, and
* Provide young athletes with the right kind of support after defeats or mistakes

Click here to read more about how to become The Ultimate Sports Parent:

Also, get to know us better by listening to ESPN’s “Sports Addicts’ Network” interview with me and Patrick by using the link below and scrolling to the interview.
http://www.youthsportspsychology.com/radio_show.php

Sincerely,

Lisa Cohn, Youth Sports Parenting Author
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THE ULTIMATE SPORTS PARENT by Peak Performance Sports
www.youthsportspsychology.com