Here’s the “Parent Pledge” by Positive Coaching Alliance.
Positive Coaching Alliance is a wonderful resource to improve the game.
Make sure to check it, if you haven’t already: PostiveCoachingAlliance.org
And the “Parent Pledge” is important for parents to understand, I wanted to make sure it was easy to find for everyone.
The “official” guidance is below, read it and please consider as we watch our kids play sports.
These are great standards for all of us.
Hope you find this as valuable as I do.
THE PARENT PLEDGE.
PRINCIPLE #1 – LIFE LESSONS
As a “Second-Goal” Parent, I will let players and coaches take responsibility for the first goal of winning.
I will relentlessly focus on the second, more important, goal of using sports to teach life lessons to my child and other youth.
PRINCIPLE #2 – POSITIVITY
I will use positive encouragement to fill the Emotional Tanks of my children, their teammates, and coaches.
I understand that people do their best with full Emotional Tanks.
PRINCIPLE #3 – MASTERY
I will reinforce the E.L.M. Tree of Mastery with my child (E for Effort, L for Learning, M for bouncing back from Mistakes).
Because I understand a mastery approach will help my child be successful in sports and in life, I will encourage my child to:
- put in a high level of effort to get better
- cultivate a teachable spirit to continue to learn and improve
- use a mistake ritual (e.g., “flushing mistakes”) to quickly rebound from mistakes
PRINCIPLE #4 – HONOR THE GAME
I will set an example for my child by Honoring the Game and will encourage him/her to remember R.O.O.T.S. —respect for the Rules, Opponents, Officials, Teammates, and Self.
If the official makes a “bad” call against my team, I will Honor the Game and be silent!
PRINCIPLE #5 – SELF CONTROL
I will use a self-control routine to avoid losing my composure when things go wrong.
I will take a deep breath, turn away from the game to refocus, count backwards from 100 or use self-talk (“I need to be a role model. I can rise above this.”).
PRINCIPLE #6 – LET ‘EM PLAY
I will engage in No-Directions Cheering.
I will limit my comments during the game to encouraging my child and other players (from both teams).
PRINCIPLE #7 – BE ON TIME
I will get my child to practice and games on time and will be on time picking my child up after games and practices.
PRINCIPLE #8 – NEGATIVITY
I will refrain from making negative comments about my child’s coach in my child’s presence.
I understand that this will help to avoid planting negative seeds in my child’s head that can negatively influence my child’s motivation and overall experience.
8 simple principles.
Can you imagine how much better the game could be if everyone followed these guidelines?
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