Sport parents, here are 7 ways to avoid emotional and physical damage for all child athletes and performers. . This applies to children participating in any sport or performing arts.
As an International flexibility master/martial artist specializing for 3 decades in mobility, injury prevention/recovery, mental coach, and sports performance. I am passionate about shedding light on solutions that sports parents may avoid unnecessary physical and emotional pain.
7 Ways to Avoid Emotional & Physical Damage:
1. Balance- Allow downtime for processing, rest and recovery.
2. Passion-Make sure this is your Childs desire not the parents’ projection of unfulfilled dreams.
3. Flexibility Training-Is the key to performing at highest capacity, injury prevention and recovery.
Results after my flexibility session via Skype with Rhythmic gymnast Anna. Her Mother was relieved to see these pain free results after seeing her daughter go through painful outdated methods with her previous coaching center
4. Sleep-Nine to ten hours of continuous
sleep helps with muscle memory. Without it, the sport-specific muscle
techniques athletes spend hours training for won't stick as well. Increased
sleep results in better reaction times, coordination, and split-second
decision-making.
5. Let go- Give your child time and
space to get into their body and connect with their inner senses to learn how
to improve performance by not aggressively coaching from the sidelines.
6. Good Sportsmanship- Winning is
performing better than your former self. Only offering rewards when the child
or team wins sets everyone up for disappointment.
7. Choice of Coach- Is the coach a
terrifying monster. But, highly regarded in some way? Many parents allow emotional
and physical abuse by ignoring the signs.
Delving deeper into 7 ways to support your child athlete:
Results during my flexibility intensive session with national champion in Tae Kwon Do Aryan.
4. Sleep: Getting enough sleep is essential for growth and allows the body to recover and repair from the day's activities. These functions of sleep are especially important for young, developing athletes, who are exerting themselves physically on a daily basis – and a good night's rest can make all the difference in their athletic success. Children need more sleep than adults. A child athlete needs even more sleep for the body to process and repair with today’s demanding schedules sleep deprivation
5. Letting go: I don’t allow parents to watch my masterclasses & privates. I have learned from three decades’ experience by not having any energy leaks in the room yields the highest results possible and the parents receive everything they paid for and more!
6. Good Sportsmanship: Take all the pressure off by taking away by only giving value to winning. The more relaxed a child is the better they focus if approval and happiness are completely connected to outcome.
7. Choice of coach: Not all coaches are equal. Find a coach that is aligned with the students’ wellbeing. Even if the coach/instructor is the most sought after, do not ignore clear signs of abuse in any way that harms or terrifies your child.
More about the author Stacey's work: Flexibility coach to top athletes: Olympians, professional dancers,
Cirque Du Soleil performers, established actors, pro soccer, NBA players, gymnasts, track & field, figure skaters, hockey players, UFC champion Victor Belfort
and Carlson Gracie Team and more! As a professional martial artist she used her understanding of how to maximize range of motion with perfect alignment
performing as an action actress: including a guest lead on “Power Rangers”
and in video games. Stacey has contributed over 30+ articles to the
Huffington Post and has been featured in many publications.
From my flexibility session via Skype with elite gymnast Isa
Get the full program to transform your flexibility! What's your level? Flexibility Master Class Series
Flexibility tools for top performance
Matt:
The back doesn’t like a hard floor. Area with some clear wall space (walls and chair provide
support)
Yoga Blocks:
There’s no reason to skip out on a deeper stretch or the
perfect yoga pose just because your flexibility isn’t quite there yet. Yoga
blocks are one of the most useful accessories for beginners, but even advanced
yogis love using yoga blocks for support in poses where it's needed.
Stacey Posture Strap: The Posture Strap can be used by anyone. The benefits
include better posture, decreased stress and tension, less joint and muscle
pain, greater energy, increased breathing capacity, great for frozen shoulder
and torn rotator cuff. All you need to do is slip it on, cross the straps in
back, pull it up and feel your body begin to straighten as you control the
tightness with the Velcro. With regular use your shoulders will shift back
giving you a taller, straighter appearance. Good posture is the body language
of confidence and health.
Stacey Stretch Strap:
I cannot stress enough what an effective tool
the strap is to increase flexibility, range of motion, and improves recovery of
the muscles. Efficient way to stretch your upper and lower body with clean
alignment to create new muscle memory. When I researched the market, I found the
straps to be lacking in the essential elements of the correct level of
resistance, tension. It also needed to be soft yet strong enough material to
not painfully dig into skin and with the correct length and number of loops to
suits all ages & heights. So, I created it myself!
Calf Master Stretcher:
The Bob will
increase speed, strength, ankle mobility, and vertical jump. It strengthens and
stretches muscles, tendons, ligaments, helps treat plantar
fasciitis, and is the ultimate lower leg solution. This simple, yet effective, device will
relieve your pain in no time. It also strengthens and tones the calves, as well
as trains your core.
No matter how much you stretch, sore muscles and Achilles’s
tendons can hold you back.
But there’s an innovative way to stretch every
muscle in your lower body with this Calf Stretcher. Whatever the fitness levels, the calf stretcher can be used
by anyone. You can target your calf muscles at both ends of their stretch
range and Achilles tendon as well as the back of the knee to aid post
workout recovery.
What is differentiates
this calf master is that rocks back and forth to also work your core while
delivering an excellent stretch to your calf muscles. It also improves vertical
jump height, clears shin splits, and helps clear tender Achilles, foot, and
lower leg pain.
Stretch before or
after workout?
Despite the claims
that stretching before a workout is not recommended, after working with
athletes for thirty years and myself as a professional martial artist I have experienced
otherwise.
If you are performing a sport, martial arts or dance that requires an
extreme range of motion stretching beforehand will allow better performance
with good alignment and help prevent serious tears and injuries. If using
elliptical or stationary bike or a less demanding workout as far as requiring a
lot of flexibility stretching after while body is warm is highly beneficial.
My flexibility training programs are a workout within themselves it is good to take days just training with my intensive courses are their own
Get unstuck
If you go to dance class, soccer practice, martial arts
class any practices with no solid flexibility training routine offered, progress may be limited,
Many times, coaches tell the student they will
never be flexible, leaving them devastated. Only because the coach truly does
not know how to help the student safely increase flexibility.
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