Share the Experience Together
Encourage your child to work on skills at home, in the backyard, or with friends in a non-team situation.
Take some time to play with your children in this type of setting. You will both benefit.
Don’t Be Critical of Your Child’s Teammates
If your child hears you being critical, it will make him/her more critical of other teammates. Focus on supporting and helping your child’s progress above all else.
Support The Coach
Think of the Coach as your child’s teacher in this activity.
Matches can be emotional experiences – channel those emotions appropriately – remember a lot of adults yelling different things can be confusing to many children.
Let Participants Dictate the Level of Competition
In an emotionally charged atmosphere, parents can tend to heighten the level of competition. This is intimidating to children and can prevent a child’s progress because they lose interest in playing the game.
Support the Referees
Referees, like players, are constantly learning from their experiences in the game.
Mistakes will be made; however, your children will learn from your example. If you show disagreement or negative emotion toward an official, they will too. If you accept the referee’s decisions, they will focus on the game and not the sideline yelling.
Remember, most Leagues, if not all, have a zero-tolerance policy for berating or verbally assaulting officials. Don’t embarrass yourself and your child by being ejected from a game.
Focus on Encouragement
Recognize what your child is trying to do, not the result.
Making mistakes is part of learning.
It is the coach’s responsibility to focus on specifics, and the parent’s responsibility to praise their child’s effort.
Positive reinforcement (great effort, great idea, good try). Don’t be a negative influence, avoid comments like, “what are you doing” “PASS the ball”, “wake up”.
Become a Volunteer
When you volunteer, you give part of yourself, your time, energy, skills, and feelings. You give to your family and friends, to your neighbors, to your community.
When you become a volunteer with UMSC you join an organization run by a small group of dedicated individuals who work as a team to make this great sport of soccer enjoyable to hundreds of kids each year.
We welcome you to become involved in the operation of the club. In addition to the Board of Directors, we need individuals who are willing to coach, work at the snack stand, line the fields, or assist other volunteers
There are many opportunities that require new talent to keep the UMSC program, a community program, going strong.
UMSC is only as strong as its volunteers.
Recognize the Benefits of Your Child’s Participation on a Team
Everyone lives and works in a group environment. Being a team member is one of the greatest benefits offered to our children.
They learn how to contribute to group goals through individual tasks.
Leadership, commitment, goal orientation, preparation, and learning are a few of the qualities your children can benefit from in a positive sports learning environment, whether in victory or defeat.
Too many parents are thinking about what they want their children to become. Playing youth sports is an opportunity to provide your child with a forum to learn. Personal growth and achievement can not be forced, it can only be encouraged. Focus positive, breathe, and enjoy the experience.
Parent Resources
UMSC seeks to instill positive character-building traits in our communities’ youth through the demonstration of good sportsmanship, respect for others, responsibility, fairness, caring, and good citizenship. We ask that parents and their guests attending UMSC sponsored events help us by reflecting these character traits at games.
- Travel Age Group Coordinators
- Weekly Newsletter Submission (Coming Fall 2022)
- Become A Volunteer (Form Coming Soon)
