1. POSITIVE COACHING SCOTLAND TEACHABLE MOMENTS
High profile sporting events often provide a wonderful opportunity to teach young people lessons that are valid for sport and also in their everyday lives – however these opportunities are often missed by parents.
Teachable moments can be both negative and positive – for example a high-profile athlete behaving in a disrespectful manner, or more positively an athlete helping an injured opponent.
Seeing these high-profile opportunities provides a great discussion topic with your child.
High profile events are not the only time a parent can recognise teachable moments, they may also occur during your child’s training session or competition.
Seize these moments and use them to create discussions with your child, and to also generate discussion amongst their peers, ask questions such as:
Tell me what you thought about the athlete’s actions?
What example do you think that set for young people watching?
How do you think the athlete’s teammates would have reacted?
How would you have responded if that was one of your teammates?
Starting a discussion with a question doesn’t mean that you can’t join in the conversation – it may be that you disagree and need to guide the conversation, however it can be very powerful when the young person concludes their own thoughts and recognises either positive or negative behaviour.
The most important factor is for parents is to recognise a teachable moment and discuss this with their child – teaching them right from wrong and instilling positive behaviour’s both in and beyond sport.
Take some time to think about teachable moments you may have missed – what would you do differently next time?
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