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October Article
Give them time, they’ll be fine
Many times during the week I hear either from parents or coaches that they're not getting enough out of their young players. Children are developing and forming in so many different ways. Descriptive words such as shy, soft, too passive, not strong enough, not aggressive enough, not focused or too nice are being overly and improperly used.
Let's keep in mind that our children lack one thing more than anything else, experience. Children lack experience for the mere fact that they are very young. In new environments, they may seem apprehensive or unsure of themselves and this is perfectly natural. Depending on the type of environment and home life a child has will influence whether they are talkative or how they express themselves in comparison to others. This is not and should not be a problem.
As coaches, parents and trainers we must take these opportunities to encourage and guide our young athletes. Specifically in terms of training in sports, leading by example is extremely important. New experiences, new people and a new environment can be overwhelming for children. In many cases, I see that coaches and / or trainers place unreasonable expectations on young athletes. Trainers and coaches must focus on establishing and maintaining appropriate relationships with our young athletes.
When too much pressure is placed upon a child or a group of children the process of progress is interrupted or halted. We must keep in mind that they are gathering information every single second. Many times I hear “run faster”, “play harder”, and “jump higher”. Children do not go on a field or a court or participate in any activity with the intent to fail. They do want to do well and in most cases they want to please either their parents or coaches. Provide children with the truth. If you don't know the truth about an exercise, training method or simply how to develop a good work ethic, seek this information out for yourself first. Information is power and with good guidance we all become better. Be patient with your youngsters.
Patience: being in a situation where you have little to no control over the duration or in some cases the outcome. For example, you're in an elevator going to the 12th floor, the elevator stops between floors, the lights go out and after a few moments the lights flicker and come back on very dimly, but now you are quite aware that the elevator is stuck. Even with attempts to communicate, your current situation with outside persons, there is very little that you can do yourself while stuck inside the elevator. Therefore, you must be patient and wait, but giving yourself time is an entirely different situation. For example, becoming good at shooting a free throw or performing a straight arm bar in jujitsu will definitely take many reps for you to become very successful.
Parenting and coaching requires a great deal of patience. It also requires the adult to recognize and accept the fact that children need time as they grow. Each child will excel in some areas and in other areas they will struggle. These two dynamics of excelling and / or struggling occur at different times with different children. Keep in mind that children watch us to learn how to react to any given situation. In some instances, children see adults react and respond in ways that may cause more reason for concern and thus promotes fear. When children are introduced to an environment for the first time, encourage them to speak for themselves. If a parent walks in and is very apprehensive and / or seemingly very nervous, this will transfer to the child. Remember, they think of you as an all-powerful being (though they may not voice this).
We sometimes put unrealistic time constraints on our expectations for the child. I recently had a father come to me. He started the conversation like this, “I have a child, a little girl and I want her to get more aggressive and I want her to be more explosive”. When the dad first began to talk to me he spoke as if the child was a young teen or even as old as 15 or 16. I then asked, “How old is your athlete?” The father responded, “She's 9.”
I simply responded to the father that she is 9, give her some time, she will be fine. I told him to trust what it is that he is teaching her each and every day. Trust the set of beliefs and the morals that he lives by each as well. Also, trust the work ethic that she has watched since the very start of their lives. All of these things matter since children do watch us very carefully. Children do as we do, not as we say.
Do you truly want your children to walk in the door and be robotic in their approach, do and speak absolutely everything you say? Never make a mistake, never question you or anyone else, never slip up, never miss a basket, all in all, just perfect in every single way, never having to help, encourage, comfort, soothe, reassure, or tend to their wounds or needs? Is this truly what any of us would ever want for our children. I think not.
One of the most gratifying aspects of being a parent or a coach / trainer is watching our youngsters mature and improve. The fruits of our labor; this is truly the reward of being blessed enough to be a part of young people's lives. Not just limited to young people, all people. We all need help; we all need guidance, support and most of all acceptance.
Coach Preston Rawlings
Give them time, they’ll be fine
Many times during the week I hear either from parents or coaches that they're not getting enough out of their young players. Children are developing and forming in so many different ways. Descriptive words such as shy, soft, too passive, not strong enough, not aggressive enough, not focused or too nice are being overly and improperly used.
Let's keep in mind that our children lack one thing more than anything else, experience. Children lack experience for the mere fact that they are very young. In new environments, they may seem apprehensive or unsure of themselves and this is perfectly natural. Depending on the type of environment and home life a child has will influence whether they are talkative or how they express themselves in comparison to others. This is not and should not be a problem.
As coaches, parents and trainers we must take these opportunities to encourage and guide our young athletes. Specifically in terms of training in sports, leading by example is extremely important. New experiences, new people and a new environment can be overwhelming for children. In many cases, I see that coaches and / or trainers place unreasonable expectations on young athletes. Trainers and coaches must focus on establishing and maintaining appropriate relationships with our young athletes.
When too much pressure is placed upon a child or a group of children the process of progress is interrupted or halted. We must keep in mind that they are gathering information every single second. Many times I hear “run faster”, “play harder”, and “jump higher”. Children do not go on a field or a court or participate in any activity with the intent to fail. They do want to do well and in most cases they want to please either their parents or coaches. Provide children with the truth. If you don't know the truth about an exercise, training method or simply how to develop a good work ethic, seek this information out for yourself first. Information is power and with good guidance we all become better. Be patient with your youngsters.
Patience: being in a situation where you have little to no control over the duration or in some cases the outcome. For example, you're in an elevator going to the 12th floor, the elevator stops between floors, the lights go out and after a few moments the lights flicker and come back on very dimly, but now you are quite aware that the elevator is stuck. Even with attempts to communicate, your current situation with outside persons, there is very little that you can do yourself while stuck inside the elevator. Therefore, you must be patient and wait, but giving yourself time is an entirely different situation. For example, becoming good at shooting a free throw or performing a straight arm bar in jujitsu will definitely take many reps for you to become very successful.
Parenting and coaching requires a great deal of patience. It also requires the adult to recognize and accept the fact that children need time as they grow. Each child will excel in some areas and in other areas they will struggle. These two dynamics of excelling and / or struggling occur at different times with different children. Keep in mind that children watch us to learn how to react to any given situation. In some instances, children see adults react and respond in ways that may cause more reason for concern and thus promotes fear. When children are introduced to an environment for the first time, encourage them to speak for themselves. If a parent walks in and is very apprehensive and / or seemingly very nervous, this will transfer to the child. Remember, they think of you as an all-powerful being (though they may not voice this).
We sometimes put unrealistic time constraints on our expectations for the child. I recently had a father come to me. He started the conversation like this, “I have a child, a little girl and I want her to get more aggressive and I want her to be more explosive”. When the dad first began to talk to me he spoke as if the child was a young teen or even as old as 15 or 16. I then asked, “How old is your athlete?” The father responded, “She's 9.”
I simply responded to the father that she is 9, give her some time, she will be fine. I told him to trust what it is that he is teaching her each and every day. Trust the set of beliefs and the morals that he lives by each as well. Also, trust the work ethic that she has watched since the very start of their lives. All of these things matter since children do watch us very carefully. Children do as we do, not as we say.
Do you truly want your children to walk in the door and be robotic in their approach, do and speak absolutely everything you say? Never make a mistake, never question you or anyone else, never slip up, never miss a basket, all in all, just perfect in every single way, never having to help, encourage, comfort, soothe, reassure, or tend to their wounds or needs? Is this truly what any of us would ever want for our children. I think not.
One of the most gratifying aspects of being a parent or a coach / trainer is watching our youngsters mature and improve. The fruits of our labor; this is truly the reward of being blessed enough to be a part of young people's lives. Not just limited to young people, all people. We all need help; we all need guidance, support and most of all acceptance.
Coach Preston Rawlings
Our Objectives
PARPerformance is committed to providing expert and specialized Athletic Attribute Development for ALL athletes striving for "Greatness". Our objectives are as follows:
PARPerformance is committed to providing expert and specialized Athletic Attribute Development for ALL athletes striving for "Greatness". Our objectives are as follows:
- Provide a safe, professional, effective, and consistent training environment
- Encourage disciplined yet assertive athleticism through Attribute Development and specific training strategies
- Build strong character, strong minds, and strong bodies
- Performance based program promoting sound mechanics, acceleration, agility, power, and endurance
Videos ... Training with Coach Preston
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