The Reality for Sports Parents With a Talented But Hard Headed Kid
Being a sports parent is fun. However, it can be rather frustrating if your child is hard headed. By hard headed I’m specifically talking about the child who’s oozing with talent and big dreams, but doesn’t listen.
Without doubt, if this kid would listen just 10% of the time the world would be their oyster. Instead, it seems they would rather drive their parents nuts with frustration.
With that said, today I came across the perfect quote for parents in situations similar to this. It’s a quote from hall of fame football coach Tom Landry.
Leadership is getting someone to do what they don’t want to do, to achieve what they want to achieve.
This quote is a homerun for sports parents. Particularly, the nuance about getting someone to achieve “what they want to achieve” not what you want them to achieve.
The truth is that not every talented young athlete wants to use their talent to pursue greatness. This is not only very hard for parents to accept, but it’s also very sad for everyone in a kid’s life to see their talent go to waste. Unfortunately, there isn’t much a parent can do if their child doesn’t want it.
On the other hand, if a child does want it but is just hard headed, then there is much that can be done. This is when those leadership skills that Tom Landry espoused must be put into use. Furthermore, this is when parents must go into overdrive leading their child to adopt the core values that lead to self-motivation.
Obviously, this is no easy task. So if you have a child that wants it, but is too hard headed to do what it takes, outside coaching may be a good fit for your family. Please contact me to find out how my family coaching program can help.