Hey tennis parents, I just wanted to have a chat about the match day of your child. When your child is playing on the court and you're standing behind after you've taken a day off work to go and watch them, your kids will look to you at every opportunity.
Whether you feel like you're a parent that doesn't care as much about results or you're a parent that cares a lot, your kids will always look to their parents because you are their guidance.
You are on a pedestal to them.
You're their parent so, no matter what you feel your relationship is with your child, always understand that they're going to feel everything that you're feeling off the court. If you're getting anxious about the score or the result or another parent asks you what's happening and your body language changes, your kids will read that.
One of the most important things is to try to become or stay neutral. As well as:
- Smiling,
- Show a happy mindset,
- Support them through clapping,
- Positive body language,
- Eye contact,
If you walk away the kids will automatically think that you don't care. That you're angry. I used to think the same with my dad. When he used to watch, if he walked away for whatever reason I would still think he was angry, and I feel like we need to understand that.
The kids are going to read everything into that and ideally we want our kids to have the best chance of performance. They train hard for it. Yes, you give up time as a parent. Yes, you give up money as well, but your kids are on their journey. Now it's important to support their journey and to support them. They need you to be there for them. Neutral, happy and supportive, but just be there for them as much as you possibly can.