Parent Information
As a parent of a young player your role is a key part of the chain of developing and nurturing the tennis performer. You are almost like a 'silent' partner. It is key that you reinforce the other individuals in your player's team.
For the team to work effectively all the cogs of the wheel need to move smoothly and in an interconnected fashion.
For more about how to be a supportive tennis parent please click the link below:
www.lta.org.uk/Parents/
In general, we prefer it if parents are not on the court during sessions. This gives the child more space and freedom to learn and improve.
Leading Sports Psychologist Dan Gould writes:
"Unhealthy parental attitudes can have a devastating impact on what should be an enjoyable and educational experience, they add.
Parents can be more tense than the kids, because they aren't able to control anything on the field, and that's their child out there...The most important thing is to remember why you wanted them to participate... Poor parenting behaviour can overemphasize winning, criticize too frequently and harshly, and fail to control their emotions during a game."
Positive Parenting encourages good sportsmanship, praising effort and respect for the game and opponent.
What can you support?
- The individual goals of the player, as laid out by the coach and player
You will play a key role here in encouraging the player to be focused on the performance goals of the player both in training and matches away from the training base. Remind the player to fill in match reports etc.
- The individual goals of the strength and conditioning coach
You can play a key part here again in re-enforcing the physical goals from their training programme. When the player has to train away from the club, be there with encouragement and demonstration of commitment. Specifically you will be vital in ensuring that should your child be injured, they complete their injury rehabilitation /prevention exercises.
- The mental skills goals
Key skills such as imagery, relaxation techniques, goal focusing needs practice. Most of this practice takes place away from the training ground. Encourage your child to stick to allocated practice time of these skills.
When do you support?
It is obvious to say 'at all times'. However there will be times when more support or rather 'educated support' is paramount. These are:
- During and after periods of poor play
Particularly following a loss. Players’ confidence can fluctuate dramatically during their tennis careers (and your child could have a career which spans more than 15 -20 years!), you are in it for the long ride! Research has shown that results influence levels of confidence positively and negatively. If your child has lost, this is when you need to ensure their confidence does not take a knock. Before you even think about launching into a negative tirade of what they did badly ask them and reinforce to them everything they did well first.
- Following any match
When your child is discussing what happened during a match they must say 5 positive things about their performance before anything is said on what they need to improve. MAKE THIS A RULE
Consistent reinforcement
It is advised that you react similarly to winning and losing in the same manner. Amazing, over the top positive reactions following winning only indicate that the opposite negative reactions should occur following a poor loss. Stay focused on the effort levels and performance of the player rather than the result.
