| Do you expect your tennis kid to always perform well | | | | performance! They think, "If I can play great one time, I |
| or win? Do you have a hard time focusing on what | | | | should do it all the time." I think tennis parents adopt this |
| your kids do well on the court instead of focusing on | | | | same attitude. When our kids don't perform up to their |
| mistakes? I receive many questions from sports | | | | potential, it's easier to focus on the mistakes and what |
| parents about their young athletes' performance. One | | | | they are doing wrong (compared to their best |
| question parents ask me: "Am I too hard on my young | | | | performances). |
| athlete?" Yes, most parents are. | | | | What's the solution to this dilemma? First, you want to |
| Just today, I received an email from a sports parent | | | | be careful not to compare every match your athlete |
| about his child. He stated, "I am sometimes hard on my | | | | plays to his best match. Second, you have force |
| son and tend to see his weaknesses more then his | | | | yourself to focus on what your child is doing well in |
| positive qualities!" As a tennis parent myself, I have to | | | | each match, especially after the match on the car ride |
| agree. I find myself focusing more on the mistakes my | | | | home. Don't pick apart every mistake your young |
| child makes in matches instead of the wonderful shots | | | | athlete made in the last match. I suggest to parents |
| she makes. | | | | that you compliment your player for one or two things |
| I think one reason many tennis parents focus on | | | | she might have done well in the match, before saying |
| mistakes and weaknesses is that they know what | | | | anything else. |
| their kids are capable of in practice and matches. For | | | | When you think your child under-performed during a |
| example, one week your child might play flawlessly | | | | match, giving complements is very hard to do (trust |
| winning every match in the tournament. Naturally, our | | | | me I know this personally). Try to focus on your |
| expectations as parents shoot up: "My child should be | | | | players positive qualities. Your kids know what |
| able to perform like this all the time!" | | | | mistakes they made and don't want to be reminded |
| I call this the "peak performance dilemma." Some | | | | after the match! |
| athletes judge every performance based on their best | | | | |