5 Things A Parent Can Do To Help His Child Succeed In Any Sport
At Gracie Barra Simi Valley we have over 250 kids in our program and 85% of kids – just like any person -, eventually go through a phase where they feel unmotivated, thinking that they don’t like class anymore. We know how Jiu-Jitsu will have a positive impact in the life of our kids and we need to work together to make this a journey of personal growth also enjoyable.
If ever your kid feels unmotivated in any sport here are a couple of important things that parents should do that always work:
1) Evaluate the child’s routine, especially leading up to class. Many times kids get home from school and go do something that they really enjoy and have been waiting for all day to do (ex. Video games, playing with toys in the bedroom, playing in the computer, even taking a nap…) what the kid is doing before coming to class is critical because when interrupting something they love doing like playing in the computer to go to Jiu-Jitsu (where they will be in a disciplinary hard working environment) they will start to resemble Jiu-Jitsu with something negative and that’s when kids many times start to resist coming to class.
2) Build a reward system. There are an incredible amount of studies relating success in the adulthood with teachings of delay gratification in the child’s life. The most famous study was “The Marshmallow Test” where kids that learn how to resist 15 minutes without eating a marshmallow to have something better after grew up to have in average a SAT with 210 points higher, higher feelings of self-worth and better stress management than kids that couldn’t resist eating the marshmallow for 15 minutes. Jiu-Jitsu training will be difficult in the beginning and at times but your child will grow up to be a successful, accomplished and confident adult.
3) Create and follow a routine of 2x a week attendance the same day and time no matter what. Routines are everything and starting a routine from the beginning will allow your child to get in a rhythm when the excitement is at it’s higher. We believe that 2x a week will allow your kid to feel they are progressing and developing in the art of Jiu-Jitsu as well as connect and make friends with the other kids creating a sense of belonging and incorporating the team mentality as Jiu-Jitsu has the strongest sense of brotherhood in any sport I have ever seen.
4) Communicate with coaches as soon as the first sign of resistance appears. We are on the same team, your kid’s development team! If ever something happens inside the class or with another teammate be sure to let us know as soon as possible so that we can address the situation in a timely manner, many times a small motivation/inspiration talk after class goes a long way.
5) Teach the value of discipline. Teaching disciple is HARD. But why is it hard? Because teaching discipline means having your kid do something they don’t want to do because you know it’s better for them in the long run. Sometimes they might not want to go to class because they are tired, want to play video games or whatever reason but you stick to the routine “no matter what”. When they want to go to class they are not exercising discipline because that’s something they want to do, when they say “I don’t feel like going today” means get up and let’s go! That’s when discipline is learned, it’s a hard lesson to teach but sooo worth it in the long run.
We are always available, for any questions reach us directly on our phone (805)587-9386, on our e-mail: info@gbsimivalley.com or at school 2964 Cochran Street.