Should I Watch My Child do the Soccer Practice?
As a parent, you would always want to watch your kid play soccer at the club. Some clubs allow you to do that, while some don’t. Have you ever thought, why is it so? Well, there are both benefits and demerits to watching your child’s soccer practice.
Here we will elaborate on both the benefits and demerits of watching your child’s soccer practice so you can decide if you are going for it or not.
Top 3 reasons to watch your child’s soccer practice
Watching your kid’s soccer practice at the soccer club can be helpful for them and you by multiple means.
Here are the top 3 reasons you can go to watch your child’s soccer practice.
1. Improving your relationship with the child
When you go to the soccer club to watch your kids playing, you learn a lot about them. It allows you to have a discussion with your kid after every game. Additionally, if you train them at home, watching them play tells you a lot about conducting home practice sessions. Hence, your relationship with the kid will improve.
It is one of the best benefits of watching soccer practice. However, to get the best of it, you must learn when to watch your kid’s soccer practice and when not.
2. Understanding their game and motivating them.
At the early stages of the youth soccer club, your kid may take it as a boring and stressful sport. Kids usually lookout for fun and enjoyment, while youth soccer clubs may put them through a lot of hard work. If you watch them, you can understand their game, and that will help you motivate them.
Even if the club does not feel enjoyable for the children, you can add after-practice activities to their routine, which will keep them motivated about the sport.
3. Seeing their progress and helping with their weaknesses
Asking for the progress of youth soccer club coaches and watching yourself are two very different things. When you see your kid playing, you can notice their strengths and weaknesses. Knowing that you can always work on your kid to improve their strengths while fighting their weaknesses.
Kids having their parents supporting them in the game will help them improve more, and it will be highly effective for their progress on the field.
Top 3 reasons not to watch your child’s soccer practice
Sometimes watching your kid’s soccer practice is not a good idea. Here are the top 3 reasons you must refrain from attending the soccer club to watch your kid practice.
1. Your presence may make your child feel extra pressure
Sometimes your youth soccer club will restrict you from being there watching your kid’s game every day. It is because they understand that in the early stages of practice, the presence of parents puts high pressure on kids to perform.
It is also one of the biggest reasons for not watching soccer practice since the kid may not be able to perform well under that extra pressure. In that case, you must not watch your kid playing at the club.
2. Let the kid decide if they want to play or not.
Say you admitted your kid to a youth soccer club, but they don’t want to play. Your presence may make kids play well even if they don’t want to. So, instead of being there and creating a sense of being watched by the children, you must give them some freedom to play. It may help them develop a love of the sport.
Otherwise, the kid won’t perform, and you will know whether they want to play.
3. You may signal less trust in the coach
When you get your kid admitted to a soccer club, you trust the coach for their training. It is the same as sending your kid to a school. Since you never go and watch the teachers teaching your kid, do the same with the soccer club and have some trust in the mentor. It helps coaches bond well with the kid, and that can help in improving their game in less time.
Occasions when you may watch your child’s soccer game
Since watching soccer practice for you and your kids has benefits and demerits, the best way to do it is by only watching it on special occasions. Here are the top 3 occasions you can watch your kid’s soccer practice.
1. When they start playing
The first time you must watch your kid playing is right when they start playing. It will be a new experience for your kids, and your presence will give them the essential confidence. So, keep that going for a few days with the permission of club management. Once your kid is comfortable with the environment, you can stop watching their practice and let them play independently.
2. During special events and matches
If there is some special event that you are invited to, that’s something you must never miss. A huge crowd will be at such games, and your kid will need your presence’s extra support. So, if the club formally invites you or your kid wants you to attend the game, you must attend that event.
These events only come occasionally and are only a few hours long, so you won’t be disturbing your routine a lot.
3. During some friendly games
If there is a friendly game with some other local club, you can go and watch your kid’s game. It may help you check the progress your kid is making on the field under training and in real-game situations. Moreover, you may find better opportunities for the kid if you attend these events and meet other parents and coaches.
Final Verdict
The soccer club where your kid plays know a lot about the factors impacting their performance on the field. So, if you ask to refrain from watching their soccer practice, you must refrain from it. Similarly, the soccer club will formally invite you to attend an event, and that’s something you must not miss. Not always being there and attending some events will give your kids a chance to learn without any pressure and perform where it matters.
