Dear Parent,

What your athlete wish you knew.

As a parent you’ve watched the training that your child goes through in his sport to excel. But, are you training yourself to excel as an athletic parent? Being the parent of an athlete brings its own set of unique questions and challenges. Without a proper standard to measure your performance by, even the best parents may be falling short of their “athletic parent potential” without realizing it.

When should parents stress commitment, provide encouragement or just step back? One key? Ask your child what he needs from you.

Communicate in a quiet place (not after a game) and, preferably, over ice cream.

Kyle Kindler of Overland Park says, “I had some really good talks with my son over the weekend. Seems it was fear and stress of pleasing me that was the issue.”

You may be amazed to find out that your performance as an “athletic parent” may be influencing your children more than you think.

Vital Leadership interviewed athletes and their parents and compiled the tips into an article for the most recent edition of KC Parent magazine. To see more tips and read about the culture of competitive sports, read our entire article in KC Parent magazine.