Whether it’s in life or in sports, parents want success for their children. Often, there is even a direct link between success in sport and success in life. Participating in sports allows kids to push themselves, work in a team setting and accomplish a common goal. Although support from parents is crucial for a child’s success, in some cases this passion and drive for our children to succeed in sports can actually harm their performance and have a negative effect. It can cause burn out and loss of love for the game. With too much pressure a game can turn into a business - and this is not a good way to promote growth and development in sports for your child. There are many ways to keep sports fun for your children and allow them the best chance to succeed.

The TeamLinkt team has developed three tips for parents to help their children succeed in sports:

1. Offer Praise for Hard Work, Not Just Accomplishments

Goals and Assists are great, but sometimes these statistics aren’t a true reflection of your child’s performance on the ice. Praise the goals and assists, but don’t forget to also praise other things that aren’t displayed on the game sheet. Support a nice back check, acknowledge you kid for playing as a team, working hard in the defensive zone and including their teammates. These are  intangible assets of an athlete’s game in any sport that will help your child succeed at the next level.

2. Support Multi Sport Participation

Having your child play multiple sports is great for two reasons: avoiding burnout and skill development. Playing multiple sports will make your child a more well rounded athlete - and many skills are transferable between sports. Hitting a baseball can help hand-eye coordination on the ice, running on a soccer field will help conditioning on the ice and the list goes on. Click here for some ideas of fun activities your child can do outside courtesy of Michigan Whitetail Properties. It is also important for kids to avoid getting burnt out playing the same sport all year. Even if your child’s goal is to play in the NHL, this doesn’t necessarily mean playing hockey 12 months of the year will mean more success on the ice. When hockey season starts up in September, you don’t want your child already needing a break from the ice.

3. Promote Fun!

Winning is great - but having fun is the most important thing for your child. Having a love for the game is what will continue to fuel their drive to become a better player. The best hockey players in the world are the ones who continue to still have fun on the ice. Connor McDavid, Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin, to name a few names, are grown men playing hockey and still having the time of their life every time they lace up the skates.

About the TeamLinkt Sports Team Management App

TeamLinkt is the best sports team management app thanks to its industry-leading features. It is a free app for coaches to manage players thanks to a network of existing sponsors. They cover the cost, and you get the pro version of the TeamLinkt mobile sports app for free!