|
News For
SWIM
PARENTS
Published by The American Swimming Coaches Association
5101 NW 21 Ave., Suite 200
Fort Lauderdale FL 33309
___________________________________________________________________
Kids And Sport
By Ira Klein, ASCA Level 5
Recently I read an article from Sports Psychology magazine,
written by Dr. David A. Feigley. He works with the Rutgers
University Youth Sport Research Council. The article was
entitled "Why Kids Quit" and contained interesting and useful
information which I wish to share with all of you.
First, why do kids play sports?
There are three basic types of participants. Ability oriented
children enjoy competition and "want to be the best". Task
oriented children enjoy the activity itself and often focus on
self-improvement. Social approval oriented children work to
please others such as coaches, parents, and teammates. To my
surprise, the author says that the evidence suggests that those who
work for social approval persist the longest.
Children aged six years and younger cannot distinguish between
ability and effort. They believe that when they try hard they
are automatically good at what they are doing. Praise tends
to be accepted positively by very young children regardless of
whether the task was successfully completed or not.
Children aged seven through eleven develop the ability to
differentiate between having talent and trying hard. They
compare themselves with others, and if they feel they cannot
succeed, they would rather not try. They find it easier to
attribute failure to a deliberate lack of effort, than to admit
that they lack ability.
Children from age twelve become skilled at making social
comparisons and realize that expending effort is no longer a
guarantee that they will succeed.
What can we do to help reduce the pressures that children
feel?
1. Encourage enjoyment of the activity and
self-improvement.
2. Encourage children to interpret comparisons with others
solely as a tool for improving. Comparisons should be
constructive and never as simple as "they are better" or "you are
not as good".
3. Praise must be an earned reward. As children
mature, they begin to value praise for successful outcomes much
more than praise for trying hard. Look for specific
successes.
4. Continually remind your children that ability often
changes dramatically as they mature.
|
