Parenting an Athlete – Pushing the Limits

Tom Burgdorf is a well respected lecturer/clinician for USA Gymnastics as well as a former gymnastics club owner and head coach. He is also the author of my favorite weekly newsletter on parenting athletes. Tom has agreed to allow me to share some of his content with my audience each week. Each Monday when Tom’s newsletter arrives in my inbox, I will select a portion of the newsletter to share with you and add my two cents worth on.

Today Tom’s newsletter featured the following piece on pushing the limits. In today’s world, there is so much focus on “everyone is a winner” and “no one getting left behind” that so much personal motivation is just lost.

Tom says:

How Do They Get Better If We Don’t Stretch The Limits?

Enough of this “we don’t want to push them too much.” Enough of this “we don’t want them to fail and feel bad.” Enough of this sitting on the couch and being mediocre. Do we really believe that being mediocre is going to make out children happy young adults? I think being happy starts with being happy with who you are.

How can our kids get better at things unless we teach them to strive for more. I don’t mean spend 24 hours a day “wanting more” but we learn more by seeking. We get to be better athletes by not being satisfied with who and what we are today, looking for ways to get better and then sweating. What in the world is wrong with that?

“Oh, my child can’t feel frustrated.” “Oh, my child needs to be successful in everything they do.” “Oh, I am afraid to have my child try too hard because they might not be successful and they will be scarred for life.” Guess what kind of child you are going to have if you feel that way?

Children should learn through trial and error, and success, rather than waiting for things to happen. I want aggressive children out there making a way for themselves. I want well adjusted kids out there who are used to falling down but find that getting up is pretty cool. I want kids out there who are not afraid to challenge themselves because they believe in their talents and their decision making. I want kids who have learned to have self confidence because they were successful a lot of times when they were challenged.

I want a lot. Do you?

My Take:

Getting our kids involved in sports is just one of the ways we as parents can help push our children to succeed. No, I am not talking about becoming helicopter parents, I am talking about giving children the opportunity to experience winning and losing, making mistakes and learning from them, working at something until you get it, experiencing success, failure and mediocrity – all in the same week.

Sports help kids develop life skills in a fun, healthy environment. It can also help them develop a healthier outlook on life in general.

Get the full edition of this week’s newsletter and subscribe to future issues of Tom’s Parenting an Athlete newsletter by visiting his site – Gymnetsports.