You Are Their Rock!

Parent's Are the Key

Hey Parents! I know it's often difficult to know when to step in and when to butt out when your child is an athlete.  It’s hard to know how hard you should push them, should you help them with skill development, how best to support them, what hidden messages you are sending and what you should and should and shouldn’t say after they lose.  

We have found that parents' behaviors and attitudes are almost always the key difference between successful and unsuccessful athletic experiences. Parents should focus their energy on areas where they can support their athlete. 

One of those areas is helping your child develop and implement their PreCompetition Routine to achieve THEIR Peak Performance.

Consistent Preparation Leads to Consistent Play

Consistent preparation leading up to a competition is a major contributor to your student-athlete getting consistent results. This consistent preparation begins in the days before the events in which they not only focus on consistency in their training but also,  consistency in their activities of daily living and their thinking. (Read more about here and here.)

This is where you can be of the most support...you can help them to develop their PreCompetition Routines, as well as to implement it. 

You can help them with things such as: what time they go to bed before a competition, what they eat, how they look, sportsmanship, discipline, respect, and unconditional love and support, .

Help Them Develop a PreCompetition Peak Performance Routine

We have developed a Peak Performance routine that each athlete can develop for themselves.  We have found it is done more effectively and adhered to better if it is done with the parent.  Many of the Peak Performance routine tasks will include support from you or other family members.  

The routine should include these basic components:

1. What/how much/when to eat and drink the night before and the morning of the competition.
2. How much sleep should they get? When will they get up?
3. What activities they should be doing the night before, the morning of, and just prior to their competition.
4. What behaviors or behaviors should they NOT be doing the night before, the morning of, and just prior to their competition? 
5. What relaxation techniques they will be using the night before, the morning of, and just prior to their competition
6. What activities or rituals they can do to prepare them mentally and spiritually the night before, the morning of, and just prior to their competition?
7. What words of affirmations or mantras will they be saying to themselves the night before, the morning of, and just prior to the competition.
8. What types of visualization techniques will they use? What will they visualize?
9. How will they pump themselves up? How will they calm themselves down? 

You can help your student-athlete get started with developing their own routines by having them journal what they are currently doing to see what's working, what's not, what they need to start doing, and, maybe, what they should stop doing.

Conclusion

Developing this routine will take some time, practice, and trial-and-error to achieve what works best for them. It will be worth the effort once it's developed because it will provide purpose and discipline leading to consistency. These skills will help them do better in their game and in their life. 

Help your student-athlete develop THEIR personalized routine with this Worksheet.