In the second part of a dialog with Parents in Sport founder, Gordon MacLelland, the conversation goes onto discuss the importance of resilience and normalising failure in sports when communicating with children. Such discussions between parents, coaches and children can help kids develop positive coping mechanisms. David and Gordon also touched on the potential risks of early specialisation in sports at a young age, such as burnout, overuse injuries and the potential to drop out from the sport altogether. The benefits of diversifying sports participation and the importance of developing multifaceted kids were also talked about.

Key Learning Points:

· Seek to focus on long-term development, such as aspects of mental toughness and resilience, rather than just results and outcomes.

· Get to know yourself as a parent as well as your child, seeking to improve your self-awareness.

· Understand what burnout in sport symptoms are for your children.

· Encourage regular check-ins between coaches/organisations and parents to manage expectations.

· Explore ways to better support and train coaches and volunteers in sports clubs to have more effective conversations with parents.

Connect with Gordon MacLelland

Parents In Sport Website

Connect with David Charlton

Join David @ The Sports Psychology Hub

Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIN

Useful Youth Sport Psychology Resource

Youth Sport Motivation Checklist

Parental Sport Motivation Checklist

Podcast Episodes To Encourage A Positive Sporting Experience For Children

Ep289: Gordon MacLelland – How To Support Children To Enjoy A Positive Relationship With Sport

Ep288: Duncan O'Brien - How To Overcome Intense Emotions From Football

Ep285: Adam Batstone - Football Coaches: How To Help Neurodiverse Players Thrive

Ep280: Colm O'Donoghue - How To Help A Young Golfer Who Struggles Playing Strokeplay

Ep279: Ger Fitzgerald - How To Help A Young Cricketer Overcome Selection Difficulties

Relevant Resources To Encourage A Positive Sporting Experience For Children

Blog – 5 Ways to Create a Psychological Safe Sporting Environment

Blog - 9 Tips for Children from Olympians

Blog - 5 Tips for Parents to Help their Children Perform with Confidence

Blog – How to Help Young Footballers Find the Zone

Blog – How do You Give a Young Golfer Self Confidence

Youth Sports Psychology Library – For Parents

Stuart Brown PHD – Play: How it shapes the brain, opens the imagination and invigorates the soul

Susan Jackson, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi – Flow In Sports