Parents do's and dont's

• Parents must not coach from the pitch side during matches and training.

• Parents should not criticise their child on any part of the player's game, leave this to the coaches since it may cause confusion and erode the player's confidence.

• Be your child's best fan and support him unconditionally. Don’t withdraw your love when he performs below his standard.

• On transporting your child home, please be supporting and always focus on the positive aspects of his game.

• Develop a responsibility in your son to pack his own kit, clean boots and bring along his water bottle full of water only.

• Respect the facilities at our opponents’ grounds.

• Do not criticise your child’s coach to your child or other parents, if you are not happy with the coach you should raise the issue with the coach.

• Encourage your child to speak with the coach. If your child is having difficulties in training or games, or can’t attend training etc. encourage him to speak directly to the coaches. This “responsibility taking” is a big part of becoming a mature person. By handling off the field tasks, your child is claiming ownership of all aspects of the game.

• Monitor your child’s stress level at home. Keep an eye on the player to make sure that they are handling stress effectively from the various activities of life.

• Monitor eating and sleeping habits. Be sure that your child is eating the correct foods. Players should be in bed at a reasonable hour on the night before a game and early enough on other nights to ensure that adequate rest is being taken.

• Help your child keep her priorities correct. She needs to maintain a focus on schoolwork, relationships, and other things in life besides football.

• Help the young player to focus on the performance and not the result.

• Winning is not as important as the performance.

• Support all the players in your child's squad. Do not criticise any player.

• Do not criticise the opponents, their parents, coaches or the referee.

John Bilton is currently in charge of Youth Development, Conditioning and is the Goalkeeping Coach at Rotherham United Football Club - English League Division 1. He formerly worked at Leeds Utd FC (Premier League) and holds the UEFA "A" License, the English Football Associations Fitness Trainers License (one of only 10 Holders in England) and has a Bachelor of Science degree in Applied Sports Coaching. You can visit his website for more useful information and coaching tips.
 

Click here for more information on Youth Development at soccerperformance.org