Coaching academies have seen a spark in intake with many parents opting for different coaches for various aspects of the game for their wards. This specialised training and changing of a number of coaching staff by their parents are to seek quick results and make them child prodigies.
Mumbai Games founder Jitendra Joshi, who has an experience of over 15 years in organizing sporting events across India including big-ticket believes this trend of the heightened amount of parents’ involvement with the coaches and tutoring them isn't the right way to go.
Parents nowadays tend to be highly involved in the game and their wards which are a good thing. But they also tend to have a say with the coaches. They feel the coaches are not doing justice to their ward’s potential,” says Joshi.
The dilemma, he adds is due to a lot of expectation from the coaching staff in creating a larger than life figure out of their kids. Joshi who is launching Mumbai Games, a multi-discipline event from December 15 across the city and expecting a participation of over 10000, believes that at times under involvement can also be hazardous. “I’ve seen many a times parents busy on their phone while the child is playing the match. There is no genuine interest in their game. Some parents feel that, just by buying the latest sports equipment or by dropping them to the match ground, they qualify to be called good sports parents.”
Joshi stresses, that a child who plays the game is not concerned whether he is playing in the forward position or goalkeeper. Parents’ unreasonable demands make the child feel embarrassed among peers. “There are instances where a child doesn’t want to play as a forward but parents stress that they should do so, while they are happy being the goalie.”
Joshi adds that parents shouldn’t become the second coach of their child as their kid will often get confused as to whom he or she should follow. “Parents role is just to motivate their kids and look after their well-being. While they have vested their faith in a particular coach, they should have confidence in them. Too much of analysis of their game with their children at home would only increase the pressure and lower their self-confidence especially during a crunch situation during a match,” he adds.
He adds that the basic fundamental of a parent who is involved with their child’s sport and other extra-curricular activities is just to allow them to have fun, as childhood is about enjoying and having fun in whatever game you play. “Being a sports parent is not tough. It’s about letting the child have fun with sports,” he concluded.
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