My boys are fairly good at their sports of choice, earning individual medals and ranking high in events or being asked to play up with the older kids.
I say this not to brag(which is why I’m intentionally vague about their accomplishments) but because I want to make it clear: the following is not coming from a mom whose child is mediocre and wants yours to be mediocre, too. But instead, from another parent trying to find a balance.
Should I push them to practice more, to train harder? Should that be just as much of their daily routine as homework?
Should I be focused on results and only concern myself with wins, losses, stats, and places?
If your kids are still young like mine, in elementary school, you probably know one of the fastest ways to get a child to stop wanting to do something is to take all the fun out of it, to turn something they want to do into something they have to do.
When you push kids to practice a sport every day, even when it’s something they love and are good at, they can start to see it as a chore.
Not only that, but they can get injured from all that practice.
We know we get better at something the more we practice it.
But not if it’s so much practice that my children start to resent it and want to quit. And not if too much training causes an injury.
As for their results: what should matter is if they’re enjoying themselves, if they’re showing improvement, if they want to keep going.
There isn’t anything major on the line for kids this age right now, so for now, even though I might occasionally have a thought of he needs to practice more if he wants to continue to place well at events, I need to let my children decide how often that practice is occurring.
Sports should be a want to not a have to.