Tag Archives: kids soccer

Engaging with Your Child Through Sport

By Alpesh Puna

Hi Parents,

Thanks for sending your children to Shaws Little League for sports fun and learning here in Singapore.

You may have read our recent articles regarding preparation, confidence and dealing with winning and losing over the last few weeks.

For this week, I want to share a bit about my personal life and about how I engage with my children through sports and games.

My two children are now aged 11 and 9 and when time and weather permits, we spend an amount of time playing and engaging in sports and games – tennis, golf, cricket, soccer, rugby, just taking a ball to the park, bike rides, jogging/sprinting, family workouts, 8 ball, board games, etc…

I find playing sports and games with my children is very fulfilling and it sure beats checking their homework and school projects. It has also helped me learn and develop a lot as a parent too.

Here are my tips for engaging in sports and games with your child:

– Play to their level, no need be condescending and belittle them

– Reward them for effort – giving 100% for a while deserves a victory, right?

– Children do not need to know how amazing you are or were – they already know you can run faster than them, are stronger than them, smarter than them

– Live and play by those values that you wish your children to have

– Children do look up to you – your conduct and behavior and not necessarily your performance – remember this when they are watching you play competitively – how you interact with referees, team mates, disappointment and success

– Take the game “deep” – it allows more opportunities for practice, thinking and learning

– Help, mentor and guide them – share your experiences and learnings

– Sport may not be for everyone but the learning from sport is for all kids

– Laugh with them, not at them

– Enjoy the after-match and look forward to the next encounter

– It’s okay to win sometimes!

See you all at Shaws Little League for more sports fun.

Am I a Tiger Mom?

There are some that wear the badge tiger mom proudly and others that shy away from it. One of those that protest the label is Judy Murray. Though often labeled a tiger mom by the media she maintains that, “Giving children the freedom to play many sports and have fun is the key to success.” Her youngest son, Andy Murray, is a three-time major champion, double Olympic medalist and former world No 1.

A tiger mom is as common a reference in Singapore as chicken rice and typically refers to an overly strict and demanding mother. A mother that pushes her child to excel academically or physically. It is a type of parenting method that can easily be likened to the Kiasu nature of the nation.

However, many parents fall closer in line with Judy Murray and believe that developing a well-rounded child is more important. And that by giving our children a chance to excel academically, socially and physically, we will give them the overall best advantages in life.

There certainly are pros and cons to each way of parenting. Have you decided which category you fall into? Ask yourself, do you take note of your child’s own interests? Do you follow the tiger mom code: “Get A’s in all subjects except for Drama and PE,” and “Learn how to play piano and one other type of instrument.” Or, do you believe that sports are just as important as maths? Extracurricular activities are no longer just something some kids do — they are something that all kids do and the degree to which parents allow their children to choose their own path will in large part allow them to grow into the adult they want to become.

If you think you might be a tiger mom, then you might take pause to consider that studies have shown that this perfectionist style of parenting can be detrimental to your child, leading to higher levels of depression and anxiety. Happiness in childhood can take many forms and most of them are about honing their skills while enjoying themselves at the same time. That’s why we know the fun on the field that kids experience at Shaws Little League is invaluable and leads to well-rounded children that grow into well-rounded adults.

Winning Vs. Losing

It’s time for class and the children are all prepared for sport, feeling confident and expecting to achieve and win.

However, sometimes things don’t go as planned – we may not do as well as expected, someone or some team may perform better and we end up feeling disappointed. This is one of those life lessons that a child can take from the field through their life.

There is a common misconception in sport that effort results in rewards – whilst it is true to an extent, many people do not realize that the other team and other athletes are trying just as hard as we are. And in most sports – there is always only one winner – think about the Olympics 100m sprint – it is fairly certain that all the athletes in the final have trained hard, prepared, felt confident enough – but in the end, only one Bolt wins. Again, learning to lose, as well as how to win, is something that we teach our kids at Shaws Little League. It is one of those lessons that will stay with them for life.

So, what can we do to help children (and ourselves) overcome this disappointment when things don’t go as planned? As is inevitable, both on and off the field.

At Shaws Little League, we emphasize the following:

– Remember other children are trying just as hard and it may not be possible to win all the time and that’s okay.

– Practice makes for improvement, so our coaches focus on ongoing skill development. Slow but steady can win the race. As long as we never stop getting up, we are winning.

– The score does not matter – but effort does, so we keep the children playing and trying to score goals and hit the ball well.

– Winning is not important, but having the will to win is (again, fall down eight times, get up nine).

– Whether you win or lose, there is always an opportunity next week to do even better, as long we keep showing up. A big part of life is just about showing up and putting in the effort.

At Shaws Little League, we are not trying to find the best young child, or having the winning under 8’s team – very rarely are these things an indicator of whether the children will succeed in the future. Also, these things really don’t matter to a child. We feel that children are more engaged, motivated and satisfied when they are part of a meaningful competition, when they have been given a chance to improve their skills and when they participate actively.

This is how Shaws Little League focuses on the whole child. Come join us and see what we’re all about.

How to Build Your Children’s Confidence

Last week we wrote about how to prepare your children for sport at Shaws Little League.

So, after preparing your child for sport, how does Shaws Little League go about building your child’s confidence?

Firstly, confidence is knowing that you have the ability to achieve something. It is more than just telling yourself that you can do something.

When working with your children throughout all of our sports activities, our coaches work to help the children make progress regardless of their current ability.

How do our children’s sports coaches do this?

– setting manageable and achievable challenges for all children

– ensure that equipment is appropriately sized and conducive for skill development

– being accurate when throwing/kicking

– being encouraging, positive and forward thinking when communicating with your children

– focusing on your child’s effort and the “trying” as opposed to the outcome – the outcome is the responsibility of our coaches and not your child!

Each time we see improvements in your child, not only do they become more confident in their ability to play those particular sports, but they also show us that they have the ability to learn and improve.

When your child knows/shows us that they have the ability to learn and improve all the time – they have every right to be confident in whatever they choose to do! This confidence will serve them in all areas of life.

See you all soon at Shaws Little League for some fun!