The Ten Commandments for Soccer Parents

(Adapted from "The Ten Commandments for Hockey Parents")

1.      Thou shalt not impose your ambitions on thy child.

Improvement and progress occur at different rates for each individual. Don’t judge your child’s progress based on the performance of others, and don’t push based on what you think they should be doing.

From the writings of Lawrence Fine (USSF A)

Welcome to the Soccer Newsletter. Today’s subject deals with dealing with contact in the game of soccer.

One of the things that some players (and parents) have difficulty with is accepting the fact that soccer is NOT a non-contact sport. Besides the obvious times such as tackles to win a ball which most seem to understand, there are also the other times such as when shielding and during shoulder charges that the game can become very physical while still being played within the laws of the game.

Approaching Your Child’s Coach
by Richard Stratton Ph.D.

[SASA] has received numerous e-mail notes from parents asking how to approach their child’s coach or otherwise deal with a problem involving the coach. Sometimes the problem is just with the one child and the coach, other times is involves several athletes. The major concern seems to be how to discuss this problem with the coach without creating problems for the child, such as retribution from the coach.