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19

Dec, 2013

Parent Conduct

The role that parents play in the life of a youth soccer player has a tremendous impact on his or her experience. With this in mind, please consider some helpful reminders for the upcoming season:

1. Let the coaches coach. Leave the coaching to the coaches. This includes motivating your child, after game critiquing, setting goals, requiring additional training, etc. You have entrusted the care of your child to these coaches, and they need to be allowed to do their jobs. If a player has too many coaches, it is confusing for the player and his or her performance usually declines.

2. Support the program. Get involved. Volunteer. Help out with fundraisers, car-pool. Show a willingness to do whatever is needed to support the program.

3. Be your child's best fan. Support your child unconditionally.

4. Support and root for all players on the team. Foster teamwork. Your child's teammates are not the enemy. When they are playing better than your child, your child now has a wonderful opportunity to learn.

5. Encourage your child to talk with the coaches. If your child is having difficulties in practice or games, or cannot make a practice, etc., encourage him or her to speak directly to the coach. This "responsibility taking" is a big part of becoming a mature player.

6. Understand and display appropriate game behavior. Remember, your child's self esteem and game performance is at stake. Be supportive, cheer, be appropriate. To perform to the best of his or her abilities, a player needs to focus on the parts of the game that he or she can control (his fitness, positioning, decision making, skill, aggressiveness, what the game is presenting to him or her). If he or she starts focusing on what he cannot control (the condition of the field, the referee, the weather, the opponent, even the outcome of the game at times), the player will not play up to his or her ability. If the player hears people telling him or her what to do, or yelling at the referee, it diverts the player's attention away from the task at hand. A referee may penalize a team for parent misconduct.

7. Never yell or gesture at the referees. We are having a difficult time recruiting referees. Nothing will drive away referee involvement more quickly than a screaming parent complaining about a call. Referees, like all of us, make mistakes. Let it go.

8. Help your child keep his or her priorities straight. Help your child focus on schoolwork, relationships and other aspects of life besides soccer. Also, if your child has made a commitment to soccer, help him or her fulfill his or her obligation to the team.

9. Reality test. If your child has come off the field when his or her team has lost, but has played his or her best, help your child to see this as a "win." Remind your child to focus on "process" and not "results." Fun and satisfaction should be derived from "striving to win."

10. Keep sports participation in its proper prospective. Soccer should not be larger than life for you. If your child's performance produces strong emotions in you, suppress them. Remember your relationship will continue with your children long after their competitive soccer days are over. Keep your goals and needs separate from your child's experience.

11. Have fun. HSC will try to challenge your child to reach past his or her "comfort level" and improve as a player. HSC coaches will attempt to do this in an environment that is fun, yet challenging.

12. Be kind to your soccer club volunteers. The people who run HSC and who coach your children are interested parents who have taken away from their personal time to provide your child with an enriching experience. They, like anyone else, can make mistakes. HSC has a grievance process that affords parents the opportunity to discuss issues that will inevitably develop in a club of its size. HSC, HYSA, the Hopkinton Community Center, and the School District are all trying to accomplish the same goal: to provide opportunities to expand the minds and to develop the physical abilities of Hopkinton'schildren through participation in sports.

13. HSC may not be the organization for your child. We understand that some parents may hold a different philosophy than HSC.

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19

Dec, 2013

Parent Conduct

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