“And, did you win today?”

Many parents of young athletes take their child’s athletic career seriously—sometimes even a little too seriously.

Most kids start playing organized sports like soccer, handball, softball, or baseball around the age of five or six. By the time they hit their teenage years, they're spending hours every week on the field, sometimes traveling across the country for games, tournaments, or even tryouts.

While many parents believe that this path is the sure way for their child to become a pro in soccer, or even make it to the MLB, nothing could be further from the truth. The risk of a sports burnout is real and sometimes even unintentionally fueled by parents. When burnout hits, young athletes face physical and mental barriers and exhaustion, often forcing them to give up everything they’ve worked so hard for. It’s no exaggeration to say that losing the fun and taking youth sports way too seriously are the main reasons this happens. Research from the American National Alliance of Youth Sports shows that 70% of kids around age 13 say that “not having fun anymore” was the biggest reason they quit. Such a shame!

Missed opportunity: when kids quit their sport before or during high school, their chances of becoming a pro are pretty much gone. But even more than that, they miss out on learning valuable life lessons through sports and creating unforgettable memories with their team. Such a shame! Team sports are exactly where these amazing opportunities come to life. That’s why the focus should really be on having fun, not just on winning or individual stats.

Coach Onno Jansen shares his story…

In our two-part podcast series with coach Onno Jansen, he shares in the first episode (around the 16-minute mark): “Ask how your child enjoyed the practice or game. Hey, did you have a fun day? Did you play well? And don’t immediately ask ‘Did you win?’ Instead, ask how you played. That’s a great open question, and everything else will follow naturally…”

Onno explains a few simple and easy-to-use tips that you can start applying today. Completely changing a mindset is obviously a bit more challenging. But hey, you’ve got to step up to the plate somewhere.

How was your day, actually?

The post “So, did you win today?” first appeared on Coach Ball.