Gifts for a Volleyball Player (PDF download - 3 pages)
Addresses the things a parent can get for their athlete in order to help the player be the best player they can become.
Top 12 Volleyball Drills for Parents - (PDF download - 3 pages)
A USA-CAP III article on the 12 "drills" a parent can do to be a better volleyball sports parent.
So You Want to be a Better Spectator (PDF download - 2 pages)
A single page reminder used annually in the USAV Junior Olympic Volleyball program about how to be a better fan.
The Agony of the Parent (PDF Download 2 Pages)
As I watch parents and coaches agonizing over defeat, and in the rapture of victory, I think two key
things are missing. 1. The parents need help in enjoying all matches, losses as well as victories.
2. We are good at the lessons of winning, but we simply do not teach enough how to gain/learn
from losing.
The fact that so many seem to forget, but an essential, key fact that is true in the hundreds of
thousands of volleyball matches played world wide each day...is simple. Half the teams
playing.....LOSE! For those wanting percentages, all matches result in 50 percent of the teams in
each contest ending up as the loser. Every day, for over 100 years, this has been happening...
Expectations Lose to Reality of Sports Scholarships (Web link - 5 pages) - Bill Pennington of the New York Times writes a length report on sports scholarships in general.
The Magic Hockey Helmet and More - A great video on parent spectating observations from a 9 year old hockey player from Canada, a must see, linked in a recent USA Volleyball blog posting.
Vision of a Champion - By Anson Dorrance - When volleyball parents ask what are good books to get for their players to read, even together, this tops the list specific to being a team player. It is about being a great soccer teammate, but the parallels are still the same. Example from the book that came from Anson heading home after work one evening and seeing Mia Hamm training all by herself. He then wrote her the following note and gave it to her at practice the next day "The vision of a champion is someone who is bent over, drenched in sweat, and the point of exhaustion, when no one else is watching."
A Man's Search for Meaning - by Viktor Frankel - When former players graduate, this is my first choice to give them, with a note of our shared history and hopes for their future added. Example quote from the book - "We who live in concentration camps can remember the men who walked throughout the huts comforting others, giving away their last piece of bread. They may have been few in number, but they offer sufficient proof that everything can be taken from a man but one thing; the last of the human freedoms - to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way."
A Nation of Wimps - NationofWimps.com explores the growing evidence that childrearing in America has taken a bewildering turn.
Parent Code of Conduct
As a Parent, I will:
- remain in the spectator areas during all games.
- not advise the coach on how to coach, who to put in the game and/or who to take out of the game.
- respect the integrity of the officials and not advise them how to call the match.
- model sportsmanship for my child by treating all coaches, officials, tournament directors and players of either team with courtesy and respect.
- encourage hard work and honest effort that will lead to improved performance and participation.
- emphasize the cooperative nature of the sport.
- not coach my child during the game.
- encourage athletes to participate in volleyball drug, tobacco and alcohol free.
- attend all volleyball events alcohol and drug free
- cheer for my child's team.
- encourage my child to participate for enjoyment as well as competition.
- applaud good and fair play during matches.
- be in control of my emotions.
- learn the rules of the game to help me better understand what is happening on the court.
- Understand that physical or verbal intimidation of any individual is unacceptable behavior
- be supportive of all attempts to remove verbal or physical abuse from organized volleyball activities, including language.
- Understand that conduct that is inappropriate as determined by comparison to normally accepted behavior is unacceptable.
- protect the ability to continue using the facility by following all the rules of the facility, such as NO FOOD, DRINK OR COOLERS IN THE GYM, smoking in designated areas only, throwing all trash in an appropriate receptacle, etc.
- protect athletes from sanctions and/or suspension by producing accurate documentation
- honor financial commitments.
With thanks to the Arizona USAV RVA office.
Partners in Sports Parenting
Positive Coach Alliance - The PCA is an organization based in Palo Alto, Calif. Dedicated to enhancing the sports experience for coaches, players and parents alike. Founder Jim Thompson has several books out for coaches and a great one also for parents called Positive Sports Parenting: How "Second-Goal" Parents Raise Winners in Life Through Sports. USA Volleyball partners with PCA for "National Conversations on Good Coaching" - see this blog link for more about this connection .
PCA's "Double Goal" Coaching, "Second Goal" Parents, and "Triple Impact" Competitor programs can be on their web site at http://www.positivecoach.org/.
Specific PCA Parenting material worth looking at:
Guidelines for a Coach-Parent Partnership - Check out these PCA tips on how you can best support and work with your child's coach(es).
Empowering Conversations - Get ideas about how to talk with your child about his or her sports experience (even after a tough loss).
Sports Parent Guidelines for Honoring the Game - Gain insight into how you, as a parent, can contribute to an "Honor the Game" culture.
The Positive Coach's Bookshelf - Check out these great books on positive coaching and related books by members of the PCA National Advisory Board.
Promise of Good Sports - PGS was founded by Dave Epperson, who with his wife Bernice, started the wonderful Volleyball Festival tournament over 25 years ago. Along with former Stanford basketball teammate Dr. George Selleck, this leadership development organization has many great articles to help guide programs and parents about the promise to be found in good sports.
www.parentsforgoodsports.org
Their top four parenting books are:
From the Bleachers With Love: Advice to Parents With Kids in Sports
by David Canning Epperson, Ph.D. and George A. Selleck, Ph.D., Alliance Publications, 1999
This book helps parents take advantage of sports' full range of possibilities for teaching life's lessons and strengthening the family and community. Beginning with the six keys to positive sports parenting, Drs. Epperson and Selleck guide parents through 52 priniciples designed to help parents deal with some of the challenges and problems that arise when their children become involved in sports.
The goal of the book is to encourage dialogue between parents, children, and other members of the sports community, as they work together to create a more positive and uplifting sports environment.
Beyond the Bleachers: The Art of Parenting Today's Athletes
By David Canning Epperson, Ph.D. and George A. Sellectk, Ph.D., Alliance Publications, 1999
Designed as either a stand-alone book or as a companion to From the Bleachers With Love. Beyond the Bleachers offers case studies, activities and exercises that help parents and children work together to implement the principles of positive sports parenting in their lives. John Wooden, UCLA's legendary coach, calls Beyond the Bleachers "the definitive 'play book' for sports parents."
Playing the Game of Life
By George A. Selleck, Ph.D., Diamond Communications, 1996
Through personal anecdotes, interviews with sports figures, and insightful application of psychology, philosophy, and life experience, Dr. Selleck examines both the special world athletes inhabit and the role that world plays in shaping their lives. Selleck explores the values sports can teach and shows what those involved with athletes - parents, coaches, sports administrators - can and should do to ensure that athletes walk off the field with more than just a knowledge of how to play a game.
A Woman's Touch: What Today's Women Can Teach Us About Sport and Life
By David Canning Epperson, Ph.D., Diamond Communications, 1999
In his book, A Woman's Touch, Dr. Epperson uses anecdote, evidence and testimony to bring to light the beginning of a new era in athletics, a melding of male and female perspectives that will guide sports policies and practices into the 21st century. Whether you belong to the Culture of Conquest, the Culture of Care, or fall somewhere in between, this is one book no one involved in the sports experience - and no student of sociology or women's studies - can afford to miss.
Publications can be ordered by fax, phone, or email from:
Parents for Good Sports
19855 Southwest Freeway, Suite 200
Sugar Land, TX 77479
Phone 281-207-1070
Fax 281-207-1071
russell@volleyball-festival.com
Character Counts - The Josephson Institute focuses on player and parenting leadership and ethical development, primarily through sport. Their many great materials can be found at: http://josephsoninstitute.org/index.html
Parents Association for Youth Sports - PAYS is a branch of the National Alliance for Youth Sports and the National Youth Sports Coaches Association - NYSCA has an extensive parenting program which can be found at: http://www.nays.org/parents/
Youth Enrichment through Sports - This Mastery Approach to Parent Education in Sports, a researched based self instruction program on a DVD. The primary focus is on encouraging parents to provide a mastery motivational climate that emphasizes a definition of success as self-improvement, giving maximum effort, and enjoying the activity for its own sake instead of defining success as winning and besting others. http://www.y-e-sports.com/ParentEducation.html
Successful Sports Parenting - US Skiing and USA Swimming have a CD Rom called Successful Sports Parenting which provides information and tools that parents can use to work together with coaches and administrators to support the development and success of young athletes from the novice to elite levels.
