Positive Parenting on KYSOCCER 

 Please pass on to others in your organization            May 2008

Great Soccer Parents

Great soccer parents are the key to great soccer players and great soccer teams.  Youth players thrive when they instinctively know that their parents or parent unconditionally support their involvement in youth athletics.  They draw strength from knowing that their parents' love and support is unconditional and undemanding.  They thrive when they are doing something that they want to do on their own because they love the game and relish the challenge of being the best they can be. 

Soccer is a sport that allows even the smaller athlete to be the best.  The greatest in this sport can be slightly taller than 5 foot like Pele, of either sex and of any race or creed. The key to success is the drive within.  Soccer teaches doing your personal best to achieve.  Even when world acclaim is not attained, success is available at every level.  Youth soccer players can and do gain that sense of self achievement that pays dividends for life.

Becoming a Great Soccer Parent 

by Lowell Jacobson

Eight ways that will help you to become a great soccer parent. If you can, remember them because they will help you and your child.
  1. Be available - just be around when your child needs support, preferably with a vehicle for transporting team members around.
  2. Be consistent in your support of your child.
  3. Learn as much as you can about the rules and the activities of soccer.
  4. If something goes wrong, don't blame the coach, the school or other players or parents. They may make a mistake, or your child may be involved in a problem, but it really does help to have friendly and supportive parents.
  5. If there is a problem involving your child, take it to the school authorities if it happens at school or to community authorities if the soccer program is being sponsored by them.
  6. Always be helpful and supportive of the coaches because they will need your help.
  7. Be flexible.
  8. Look around you, there may be someone who needs your help.

These are eight ways that will help you to become a great soccer parent. If you can, remember them because they will help you and your child.

Player Development Camps

Run by Kentucky Youth Soccer Coaching Department

Kentucky Youth Soccer will again hold its annual player development camp program this summer at 6 different locations across the Commonwealth.  Each location will offer a recreational and select camp to accommodate all levels of play to meet the needs of all levels of player interest and skill.                             
Recreational Camp (Recreational players 6 to 16 years old)
The Recreational Camps a fun filled week open to recreational players who wish to learn more fundamental techniques and tactics necessary to play the game. Players will be given the opportunity to learn elite dribbling skills; perfect their passing ability; score stunning goals and develop their whole game in preparation for the soccer season. 
 
Select Camp (Select players 9 to 16 years old)
The Select Camps open for players currently playing select soccer who are dedicated and serious about progressing to the next level. The curriculum will simulate the sessions taught to the Olympic Development Program players.
 
To get more information, including exact locations and times, please click here.
 
Support is Essential for Soccer
It really doesn't take much to be a great soccer parent, and you can sum it up in one word...Support. However, support in soccer goes a long way, and you need to be sure that the kind of support you are giving, is the right kind.
  1. Support Your League
  2. Support Your Coach
  3. Support the Referees
  4. Support the Team
  5. Support Your Child
  6. Support Is Essential for Soccer

Support is essential for soccer, or any sport, especially when children are involved. Without the support of good parents, good players, coaches, and referees, we wouldn't have successful soccer programs in neighborhoods around the country. Whatever would we do with our weekends without them?

To read the full article and to learn about the six points of support, click here.

10 Keys to Being a Good Soccer Parent

by Jobie Weetaluktuk
Being a good soccer parent is as important as being member of the coaching or soccer team.  As a parent you have an important role to play. There are a lot of things you will find rewarding about soccer and being a soccer parent. You will meet other soccer parents. You will see your child grow, develop skills, and become a team player. Hopefully you will help your child become a team player. 
  1. Pay your fee and expenses
  2. Support your child
  3. Support the whole team
  4. Support the coaches
  5. You are not the coach
  6. It is not your dream come true
  7. Respect the officials
  8. Lose and win gracefully
  9. Be honest
  10. Injuries

Soccer is a great sport. You will get many years of joy, involvement, and opportunities to meet people, relax and cheer on. You as a parent can be a great soccer parent or an embarrassment to your child and the team.

To read the full article and learn about the key areas of support, click here.
 

Youth Soccer Heat and Hydration Guidelines
by US Soccer
The rapid growth of youth soccer participation in recent years, coupled with an increased need for qualified and certified coaches, has made ensuring the safety of youth soccer players more important than ever before. Moreover, new youth soccer research from the University of Connecticut and serious cases of heat illness in other sports over the past few years has prompted the U.S. Soccer Federation to issue an updated version of its "Youth Soccer Heat Stress Guidelines." The aim is to help parents, young athletes and coaches understand one of the most common and most preventable sports injuries: heat-related illnesses, including dehydration, heat cramps, heat exhaustion and heat stroke. 
 
To read the Guidelines, click here.
 
101 Ways to Be a Terrific Sports Parent
Making Athletics a Positive Experience for Your Child
Joel Fish & Susan Magee / Paperback / 256 Pages / Simon & Schuster / August 2003 / 0743227026  / List Price $14.00
 The determining factor in whether a child between the ages of six and seventeen enjoys athletics is his or her parents - not the sport, coach, or team. Yet, parents are often unaware of how their behavior and expectations impact their child's experience.

In 101 Ways to Be a Terrific Sports Parent, Dr. Joel Fish, a sport psychologist who is also the dad of three young athletes, shares both his clinical expertise and practical experience to help parents develop a deeper understanding of the many issues that surround the young athlete. For athletes of all skill levels, from Little League to high school.

To get a copy, please click here.
For more information, please contact us at: stateoffice@kysoccer.net
© Kentucky Youth Soccer Association 2008. All rights reserved. No commercial reproduction, adaptation, distribution or transmission of any part or parts of this electronic newsletter or any information contained, herein by any means whatsoever is permitted without the prior written permission of Kentucky Youth Soccer.
 
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