As a coach motivating players who are passionate isn’t hard. The passion is there, all I need to do is keep up the motivation by pushing them and their hard work and dedication do the job for me. However, how do we get our young athletes motivated to make moves or achieve their goals? Or even set goals to better their future?
“If parents want to give their children a gift, the best thing they can do is to teach their children to love challenges, be intrigued by mistakes, enjoy effort, and keep on learning. That way, their children don’t have to be slaves of praise. They will have a lifelong way to build and repair their own confidence.” - Carol S. Dweck

I know you must hear this all the time but children’s biggest motivation is their parents. And trust me I have kids, I know some days it feels like they don’t want anything to do with you let alone want you to motivate them. But I promise you, pay attention, learn about their interest, they will love it. You are their role model. You are their one constant in the ever-changing fast-paced world. You are the one that they can turn to. The closest person to you is always your biggest motivation. Just like I’m sure your kids are also your biggest motivation and the reason you do everything in life.
Our kids watch us like a hawk. And I’m sure you know this by now. How many times has your kid seen you do something that you didn’t realize they were paying attention to? This is because they are always watching you. You show your kids your passion for things in turn lets them know it is okay and good to have a passion and work hard for things. Our kids are deciding who they want to be and you are the first person they will look to when deciding who they are going to be.
The words you speak affect your kids. Which is more inspiring when you hear it every day? “That’s too hard” or “I can do that”. What about “You’ll never do that” or “You can do anything you set your mind to”? Success comes if you work hard enough, and letting your kids know that you believe in them can go a long way with young aspiring minds.
However, as parents, we all know that the “do what I tell you and not what I do” rule rarely works. So motivating our kids can’t just come from speaking inspirational words, but by our actions as well. This is a tricky thing to learn and yes you will mess up from time to time (which is okay, and a different life lesson).
Showing your children motivation and passion in your own life will spill into their core values. Growing up in an environment where it is okay to have different passions, and supporting all family members with those passions is the key to successful motivation. Dinner time is a great time to practice this. Tonight at dinner I urge you to have a family talk on your passions, share your high points and low points of the day, share your goals and what you are looking forward to. Connection is the key to motivation.
Coach Ben
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