05/03/2024
An important lesson for parents and coaches 🗣️⚽️
The journey through football can he extremely difficult for children; there’s often so much pressure to achieve, compete against others and impress those who are watching you.
Now more than ever, in the spotlight of social media, so many children feel like they’re “not good enough” or that if they don’t win, they’re not worthy of being a footballer. Add this to the pressure of achieving contracts and maintaining spots in teams, the understanding of children’s emotions is extremely important for coaches and for parents too.
Both in and out of football, I’ve learned a lot about myself emotionally, but more importantly, I’ve learned how crucial it is for me to support the emotions of the kids I work with. Especially within Foundation Development Phase (U7-U11), the process of helping children become better footballers and better people should always be the main focus, as well as helping them be themselves, and feel comfortable in expressing who they are.
This picture from last Saturday is just one of many times I’ve experienced a player who has felt the overwhelming emotions of being on the losing side of a game. It’s never nice to lose, but it’s always massively important to show the players I work with how highly they are thought of, regardless of the match result.
So, my message to you all… parents and coaches…
Try your very best to remind our young players how amazing they are, regardless of a win, draw or loss.
As long as they give 100% and show positive human values, they will make us proud for a very long time to come! 😁
Enjoy your weekends,
Credit Coach Liam of Liam Davies Coaching
