Before and during the game, parents naturally experience higher levels of anxiety than children. That being said, have you ever considered if your athlete sees or feels YOUR anxiety? Does it impact the players’ stress levels in any way?
Here’s the quick answer: absolutely 100% yes, it does.

99% of parents tend to worry more about the game’s outcome and their child’s performance than the child themselves. Fortunately, parents getting nervous before or during their child’s game is a fairly common occurrence.

But here’s an intriguing psychological fact:

If you’ve been a parent who has been anxious about every single game your child has played since the start of his or her career, there’s no need to attempt to disguise it or pretend that you’re calm now. They have known about your personality under pressure for years.

Your kids, especially in their formative years, possess a keen ability to pick up on subtle cues from their surroundings. While it may not always be easy to gauge, their young minds can directly or indirectly sense our stress, anxiety and disappointment during sports events. Some children are unaffected by your actions, while others feel uneasy and even afraid. 

I will not dare tell grown-ups how you should behave or feel during a game; I will not bore you to death by forcing you to watch inspirational or mindless YouTube video clips or force you to think positive, joyful thoughts; I will not insult anyone’s intelligence. 

But rest assured that each of us has complete power over our emotions. It is actually up to each individual whether they want to manage their emotions and state of mind when watching a youth club amateur game. 

You have complete influence over whether our feelings during a game or in any other scenario in life are real, positive, negative, or fake. As a result, you know when your reaction to anything will have a significant impact on your young athlete.  

Here’s one simple solution:

We all want what is best for our children. We all want them to succeed and be happy.  However, before you leave for their game, it is critical that we prioritize our children’s best interests over our own egos and interests. 

Let me clarify that my intention is not to suggest that you should adopt the characteristics of a psychotic cyborg without any emotions. I’m only trying to convey that controlling your emotions and realizing how things make you react and respond will have a huge positive or negative impact on your athlete’s life. So, enjoy the journey!