10th November 2020
| Mallory Gray
Being a parent is tough. Being a parent of a child or
children in a national pathway can be even tougher.
That’s why Cricket Wales, Welsh Gymnastics, Welsh Athletics,
Hockey Wales and Welsh Netball have teamed up to provide the ‘Non Perfect
Parent’ series for 2020-21, in addition to a separate coach development series!
Welsh Netball are a welcome addition to the initiative after a hugely
successful pilot year in 2019-20.
The programme will be once again led by the highly acclaimed
Richard Shorter and will be delivered virtually given the current landscape. Richard
has a long list of accomplished organisations he has worked with ranging from
Manchester United, England Rugby, the ECB, England Hockey, Saracens, Millfield School,
Newcastle Falcons, the BBC and Somerset Cricket.
Over the course of six parent sessions (one per month across
November-April) and three coach specific sessions a flavour of some of the
benefits for parents can be found below, which will inevitably lead to better
outcomes for children:
Benefits for parents
-
How to manage the juggle of being a parent in
the pathway
-
How to manage the emotions of your child in the
non-linear pathway journey
-
Managing COVID-19
-
Thinking about the coach-parent relationship,
and the conversations that go on
-
Managing injury setbacks
-
Reflecting on game/competition day focus
-
Managing child workload
-
Helping kids self-manage their own sporting
experience
-
Helping parents navigate and manage social media
Benefits for coaches
-
Developing coaching self awareness
-
Managing COVID-19
-
Managing expectations of athletes and parents
-
Athlete feedback and projection
-
Helping kids self-manage their own sporting
experience
In advance of the 2020-21 series Richard said, “I am
really looking forward to undertaking these new sessions for this year. It’s
great to be working with those sports who participated in the hugely successful
pilot last year, and to welcome Welsh Netball to the initiative as we seek
better outcomes for kids in the pathway.”
Sport Wales Athlete and Participant Experience Lead Cath
Shearer said, “Parents and carers play a critical role in an athlete’s life
and take on many different roles. As such, not only do they need to consider
how to best support their child, but also how they can support themselves. The
Non Perfect Parent series gives parents the opportunity to consider how they
can best do this in addition to connecting with other parents in the same
situation, and all done in an engaging way. I would thoroughly recommend
engaging in these workshops, and it is brilliant to see the five sports
proactively engaging in this initiative together.”
To find out more contact your Regional Pathway lead or Cricket Wales Head of Talent Pathway.