Robert Wilonsky, father and a writer on the blog of the Texas Rangers, shares this in his recent article, Texas Rangers manager Jeff Banister to sports parents: It’s about your child, not you.
“If I had to pick out a key phrase [from my interview with Banister], it’s this one: If you talk to your child while they’re competing — even from a distance, even in a whisper — that’s all they can hear. And it’s the last thing they need to hear. ‘When you are on the field as an athlete, especially as a young athlete, the people you do not want to disappoint the most are your parents,’ he [Banister] says. And when a child hears a parent’s voice, especially one telling them what ‘they’ve done incorrectly or need to do more of, it adds to the tension and the anxiety. When you’re there and you’re cheering and you’re clapping and lending support, their feeling is so much greater. They’re going to compete harder. They’re going to focus. … When they hear the clapping they know they did something good.’”
Remember that the baseball diamond isn’t the only place where kids will feel better, focus, and compete harder when they hear a parent cheering them on from the literal or figurative sidelines.