Bulletin Board
Subscribe to our Newsletter***Please notice that this is the old website. For all new and current registration and updates, please go to ljal.org or lisbonjuniorathleticleaguecalripken.website.sportssignup.com*** You can also follow the league on Facebook @ Lisbon Maine LJAL Information Page. Thanks!
Ten Commandments for Parents with Athletic Children
1.Make sure your children know that win or lose, scared or heroic, you love them, appreciate their efforts, and are not disappointed in them.
2.Try your best to be completely honest about your child’s athletic capability, their competitive attitude, sportsmanship, and actual skill level.
3.Be helpful but don’t coach them on the way to the field or gym or on the way back. It is tough not to, but it is a lot tougher for the child to be inundated with advice, pep talks and often critical instructions.
4.Teach them to enjoy the thrill of competition and to be working on their skills and attitudes.
5.Try not to relive your athletic life through your children in a way that creates pressure.
6.Don’t compete with the coach. If the coach becomes an authority figure, it will run from enchantment to disenchantment, etc. with your athlete.
7.Don’t compare the skill, courage, or attitudes of your children with other players.
8.Get to know the coach so that you can be assured that the philosophy, attitudes, ethics and knowledge are such that you are happy to have your child on his or her team.
9.Always remember that children tend to exaggerate both when praised and when criticized. Temper your reaction and investigate before overreacting.
10.Make a point of understanding courage, and the fact that it is relative. Explain that courage is not the absence of fear, but a means of doing something in spite of fear. The job of the parent of an athletic child is a tough one and it takes a lot of effort to do it well.
2.Try your best to be completely honest about your child’s athletic capability, their competitive attitude, sportsmanship, and actual skill level.
3.Be helpful but don’t coach them on the way to the field or gym or on the way back. It is tough not to, but it is a lot tougher for the child to be inundated with advice, pep talks and often critical instructions.
4.Teach them to enjoy the thrill of competition and to be working on their skills and attitudes.
5.Try not to relive your athletic life through your children in a way that creates pressure.
6.Don’t compete with the coach. If the coach becomes an authority figure, it will run from enchantment to disenchantment, etc. with your athlete.
7.Don’t compare the skill, courage, or attitudes of your children with other players.
8.Get to know the coach so that you can be assured that the philosophy, attitudes, ethics and knowledge are such that you are happy to have your child on his or her team.
9.Always remember that children tend to exaggerate both when praised and when criticized. Temper your reaction and investigate before overreacting.
10.Make a point of understanding courage, and the fact that it is relative. Explain that courage is not the absence of fear, but a means of doing something in spite of fear. The job of the parent of an athletic child is a tough one and it takes a lot of effort to do it well.
"A Parent Talks to a Child before the First Game"
This is your first game, my child. I hope you win. I hope you win for your sake, not mine. Because winning's nice. It's a good feeling. Like the whole world is yours. But, it passes, this feeling. And what lasts is what you've learned. And what you learn about is life. That's what sports is all about. Life. The whole thing is played out in an afternoon. The happiness of life. The miseries. The joys. The heartbreaks.
There's no telling what'll turn up. There's no telling whether they'll toss you out in the first five minutes or whether you'll stay for the long haul. There's no telling how you'll do. You might be a hero or you might be absolutely nothing. There's just no telling. Too much depends on chance. On how the ball bounces.
I'm not talking about the game, my child. I'm talking about life. But it's life that the game is all about. Just as I said. Because every game is life. And life is a game. A serious game. Dead serious. But that's what you do with serious things. You do your best. You take what comes. And you run with it. Winning is fun. Sure. But winning is not the point. Wanting to win is the point. Not giving up is the point. Never being satisfied with what you've done is the point. Never letting up is the point. Never letting anyone down is the point. Play to win. Sure. But lose like a champion. Because it's not winning that counts. What counts is trying.
~John Wooden
There's no telling what'll turn up. There's no telling whether they'll toss you out in the first five minutes or whether you'll stay for the long haul. There's no telling how you'll do. You might be a hero or you might be absolutely nothing. There's just no telling. Too much depends on chance. On how the ball bounces.
I'm not talking about the game, my child. I'm talking about life. But it's life that the game is all about. Just as I said. Because every game is life. And life is a game. A serious game. Dead serious. But that's what you do with serious things. You do your best. You take what comes. And you run with it. Winning is fun. Sure. But winning is not the point. Wanting to win is the point. Not giving up is the point. Never being satisfied with what you've done is the point. Never letting up is the point. Never letting anyone down is the point. Play to win. Sure. But lose like a champion. Because it's not winning that counts. What counts is trying.
~John Wooden
