This week, the weekly parent tip focuses on respecting officials, a component of the Honoring the Game code: ROOTS
Responsible Sports Parent Tip of the Week:
“Help your young athlete to understand the value of a good opponent. Good opponents bring out the best in us. Model this attitude by talking about opponents respectfully. Never demonize the opponent as ‘the enemy’.”
Without healthy competition, it becomes easy for a team to get complacent, over-confident, and by doing so could possibly not see the value in the time and effort that’s required during practice to become a successful player contributing to the teams overall success.
During competition it’s easy to get caught up in the passion of the game, either a big goal in stoppage time or a huge save by your goalie, but we as Responsible Sport Parents, need to lead by example and remember to always respect our opponents and show our young athletes that they need to as well. Respecting opponents is one component of ROOTS, the acronym that stands for Rules, Opponents, Officials, Teammates and Self, which helps us remember the code of Honoring the Game.
As a Responsible Sport Parent, we aim to conduct ourselves by this code. Honoring the Game is one of many opportunities where we as parents can lead by example. When our children notice that we keep our attitude in check and never bad mouth our opponents, for example when an opposing team scores a critical goal on your team, they are more likely to do the same, and not overreact, which is the basis of bad sportsmanship.
For an easy reminder, download and print Introducing “Honoring the Game” to your child.
Opponents are an integral part of the game on the field, and we should prepare our athletes before competition how treat them during and after the game. In the section, Honoring the Game Tools, we have some tips to help you, as a Responsible Sport Parent, recognize and capitalize upon teachable moments. When an incident occurs, on or off the field, let your kids know what you think about it. Better yet, ask them to talk about it even before offering your opinion.
If our kids come to the conclusion that something is or isn't Honoring the Game and put it into their own words, they are more likely to retain what they have learned.
Also in the section of Honoring the Game Tools, are game day tips for before, during, and after the game to help you be aware of what you’re communicating to your kids and their coach.
Like these ideas? Stay current by signing up for our Weekly Parent Tip emails that come directly to your inbox each week!
