Parenting

Ways to Keep Kids in Sports Longer

Ways to Encourage Kids to Stay in Sports

According to an article in the Washington Post, 70% of kids quit organized sports by the age of 13 and the number one reason quoted is that it is no longer fun. If you think about it, it makes sense. Most kids start sports in elementary school – parks and recreation soccer, t-ball, gymnastics classes, and the like. When they start out, it is that, just fun – it’s all new, there is no pressure and they feel like every practice is something different.

As kids get older, they get better at their sport, which means they may take it to the competitive level resulting in more practices, higher expectations, more potential for injury, time management challenges and the list goes on.

So, how can you help kids navigate these challenges so they stick with their sport through high school, possibly college and eventually develop life long healthy habits?

As a coach, get creative and get the kids involved in the planning of the workout. Remember that as a coach, you are using sport to give kids the basis for a healthy adulthood – teaching them skills about persistence, dealing with adversity, teamwork, time management and more. Yes, you need to focus on things like good technique and strategies for your sport, but don’t forget the big lessons you are really trying to teach.

As parents, be supportive and take the focus off the performance (and the winning) and embrace the process and journey. Your child will be headed off to college or independent life before you know it! Their sport and your role in it, will be an important part of their foundation for success as an adult.

Once your child gets to high school, encourage them to get involved in sports at their school. Not only does it keep them in sports, but it gives them the opportunity to be more involved in their school. One of the great things about high school sports is the opportunity to try new things. For example, your child may have played soccer in elementary school and middle school, but now in high school they can use all that training to try new sports like cross country or field hockey. Your daughter may not want to swing bars or flip on the beam anymore, but she may want to take those years of gymnastics training and show her school spirit on the cheerleading squad or take her love of jumping to the track team or volleyball court.

As your child contemplates her journey in sports and whether or not she should continue or not, the best thing to do is keep the lines of communication open – discuss options and alternatives. You may also want to read my tips on Getting Past “I Quit”.

Kids in sports is a team effort! Parents, coaches and the athletes and how they work together can make all the difference in keeping kids in the sports they love!

Athletes and Back to School: 8 Things Parents and Coaches Can Do To Make It Easier

Note: I originally published this a few years ago but find it very helpful to revisit at this time of the year!

Our kids go back to school soon but many of our mid-west friends have kids who go back to school this week. For us the first week of school is also the first week of practice on the fall schedule for the gymnasts I coach and my own kids go back to swim team practices this week, as well. As a coach and a parent, I know the next 3 weeks are going to be HARD! That’s because it is going to take about 3 weeks for the kids to adjust to being back in school all day and then going straight to practice a few times a week. But it’s going to be okay. Experience tells me that these first few weeks will be tough, but the kids will adapt.

As a parent, you can help make this transition time easier by:

Make sure your athlete is going to bed at a reasonable time. Summer sleep schedules were lax at best around my house so it is time to recalibrate the kids’ sleep schedules. I aim to have my 10 year old in bed between 9 and 9:30 on school nights. She can sleep in until 7 so that gives her plenty of time to rest. My 14 and 16 year old have to get up earlier but don’t seem to need quite as much sleep so they go to bed no later than 10 – closer to 9:30 on night’s where the homework load is light.
Make sure your athlete is adequately fueled. Long school days mean less opportunity for snacking but it also means that they will be hungrier when you see them after school. Start with a balanced breakfast – no a frozen waffle on its own does not count. Encourage your athlete to help pack their lunch or at least give you input so the chance of them eating it all is better. If you are going straight from school to practice, make sure you provide a healthy mini-meal to refuel their systems (check our list of Healthy Snacks and Mini Meal Ideas). After workout try a tall glass of chocolate milk and a banana or bagel for immediate muscle recovery!
Communicate with teachers! If your child is still in elementary school, definitely let their teacher know what days they have sports practice. Many teachers will be willing to give homework at the beginning of the week so that you can focus on homework on off days, or at least conquer the more time intensive pieces on non-sports days. For middle school and high school students, it is a great time to learn time management skills. My kids have learned how to take advantage of in-school study halls and extra class time to get a jump on homework so they don’t have as much to deal with after school.
Allow for downtime. Be sure not to completely over schedule your child these first few weeks. Add activities incrementally and allow for some relaxation time. Time to read, play, enjoy family time and just chill is just as essential for kids as the sports they do!

As a coach, you can help by:

Being aware of the transition that your athletes are dealing with. Just acknowledging the new schedule and challenges will go a long way to helping the children relax.
Taking a few minutes to communicate with your athletes. When we start practice we have the girls all line up first so we can give them any pre-practice information, greet them and we usually go down the line and ask them each how their day was or some silly question. It helps the girls change gears and it helps facilitate the coach/athlete bond.
Stressing the importance of school. Remind your athletes that school comes first. If they need an extra 15 minutes at the beginning of practice to finish up homework, give it to them. As the year goes on they will find their stride and will learn to manage the homework/practice balance better. Allow athletes to leave practice early on night’s where they need to study for a big test or have a larger than normal homework load.
Adjusting practice intensity. Know your athletes and know the signs of fatigue. The first few weeks of school you may need to adjust the intensity, number repetitions and lower your expectations a bit.

Years of experience from the coaching side and now from the parenting side have taught me that kids are resilient, they adapt and even the busiest schedule can be a positive thing – IF – parents and coaches are working together with the athletes as a TEAM.

Do you have tips for making the transition from the lazy days of summer back to the structure of balancing school and sports? If so – share them in the comments below! We can all benefit from working to support our athletes.

4 Winning Sports Mom Strategies

This is a post from a few years ago, and now that two of my three kids are in college now, the advice is still very relevant and I can say, these strategies really do help. This post also contains affiliate links.

While my kids actually went back to school a few weeks ago, it seems like the rest of the area started school today and this is the first week all three of my kids have full-blown sports schedules. Three kids at three different schools doing three different sports after school is enough to make your head spin, but I have had a few years to perfect this and have some strategies that will help keep things running smoothly.

1. Put it all out there

Whether you use a whiteboard in the kitchen, traditional planners like the Erin Condren Life Planner or one of the many from momAgenda (pictured right), or any myriad of technology tools we now have access to, get the week and schedules on paper. Color code it, use pictures, or use any other method that works for you but post the schedule somewhere so you can refer back to it and other family members can reference it, too. The other thing I did this year is take advantage of one child’s flexible schedule. My oldest has practice Monday and Wednesday after school until 5. My middle daughter has gymnastics on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. And my youngest is supposed to be at swim practice 3 days a week but they can choose their 3 days – so she will swim Monday, Wednesday, Friday so we can have two afternoons a week free (well, until my oldest’s high school swim season starts in November.)

2. Carpool

Let’s face it, the price of gas is getting crazy and our time is valuable. Check with other team members and form carpools where ever you can. Not only will it save money and time, the social time is good for your kids, too. A few years ago we carpooled with a family for gymnastics – I picked the girls up from school and took them to gym and my friend brought them home. We found that the simple routine and expectation of your friend going too, got rid of any complaints of “I’m too tired”, “I don’t want to go”, and similar episodes of whining. If you are going to carpool, make sure you do your best to pay attention to whose turn it is to drive, pick up times and be respectful of the schedules of others (as in try not to do last minutes schedule changes if possible).

3. Plan Meals

It is much healthier and more cost effective to feed your family at home than it is to go through the drive-thru window every other night. Take time over the weekend to plan your family’s meals for the week – taking into account schedules and staggered eating times. On crazy sports nights I tend to do meals in the slow cooker or meals that can be easily reheated depending on when the kids will have time to eat. Planning also pertains to snacks. Plan healthy mini meals that you can pack for your athletes to eat before or after practice.

4. Walk That Fine Line

Let’s face it, without parental involvement youth sports just could not thrive. We need team moms, volunteer officials and booster clubs, and we know that kids rely on us for positive support. Get involved, however, you don’t want to be so involved that you are hovering over your child during practice, second guessing the coach or putting unnecessary expectations on your athlete. Don’t get wrapped up in the emotions of the day to day journey of sports – this is a marathon, not a sprint. Plus your child and their coaches are going to have good days and bad days – just like you do.

So as crazy as some days can be, take a little time to get organized, divide and conquer, and then you will be able to enjoy your child’s sports almost as much as they do!! If you have any strategies or techniques that you use to manage your children’s sports schedules, feel free to share them with us in the comments below!