Every institution
of the society is affected by coronavirus, and youth sports is no
exception. Games, tournaments and the entire season has been
cancelled. Youth athletes who practised, prepared and worked hard for
the season, have to deal with disappointment. And that is a lot to
ask. But again, sports training is not just about the game skill; it
also teaches physical and emotional strength, resilience and the
spirit to move on no matter what. The disappointment of cancellations
and restrictions are huge, but good sports training provides the
solidity to deal with it. The problem is that kids may not realise,
and may not judge the situation and the response it demands. We as
parents, coaches, leaders and mentors have to guide kids to being
strong and focused during these testing times.
Here’s a little
help, a few tips helping concerned adults into counselling kids to
deal with the anxiety and stay tough.
Acknowledge
the disappointment
Your child may
not be very verbal about it but the disappointment may reflect in
their behaviour. The child may have increased tantrums, may be cranky
or plain sad. Don’t disregard this feeling. Talk to the child.
acknowledge that the cancellation of the season is not fair given the
efforts they put in, and it’s okay to feel bad.
Give them the
life lesson they need
Tell your child
that there are some things that cannot be controlled. And those are
the things that actually call for putting your best-self forward.
Tell them to focus on things that can be controlled like making a
schedule to stay active. Given that they have so much time in hand,
this could be their chance to build up on their strengths.
Plan of action
Apart from giving
them motivational talk and life lessons, there a few actionable
activities that coaches and parents can do to keep the spirits of the
child up.
FOR COACHES
- Keep in touch with the team. Send motivational messages on the InstaTeam messenger.
- Ask team players to keep posting videos and pictures of their healthy routine including exercises and healthy food.
- Plan virtual team activities like watching a sports movie together, or a specific workout together as a team.
FOR PARENTS
- Help your child create a time table which includes study time, work-out time, social media time, hobby time and TV time. Do not be strict but ensure the child sticks to the routine.
- Try and get involved in the workout with your child. this will be great for motivation and bonding. The child will feel like doing it too.
- Tell your kids why it’s important to take care of the body and build immunity to fight the virus.
- Encourage them to stay in touch with their friends. The game is cancelled, team isn’t. It is during these testing times that your true team spirit is put to use.
- Tell your children to talk to you or the coach if they are feeling anxious, overwhelmed, fearful and depressed. Encourage them to talk and seek support if they need it.
Youth sports is a
great platform for the overall development of athletes and fine,
disciplined individuals. It always will be. During these testing
times it’s important to apply all the team and life skills that
sports training teaches. Kids need to be motivated at this time.
InstaTeam is a great platform to motivate and connect the team. The
problem with other media is that there are all sorts of posts there.
Most of it might be the kind of stuff you do not want your child to
get exposed to, at least not at this time.
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