Kids across Australia love their footy. From Auskick and through to junior footy clubs kids love the great Aussie game and can’t wait for the new season to start. As a parent, you probably want to see your little one do as well as possible out on the footy field, as it provides important life lessons that can be taken beyond the field!
Naturally, there are a few things you can do as a parent to instil a successful mindset for when your kids take to the field and take their lessons into life situations.
Here, we are going to discuss some of these fundamentals and how they are important for so much more than just the footy season:
Learn the fundamentals
The first thing to do is grab your AFL merchandise online and start working on the fundamentals. Kicking, handballing, tackling, marking and other fundamentals are essential to becoming a well-rounded player who can handle the different game elements such as ball crowding, pack marking, goal scoring and more.
And we get it: it can be tough to instil the fundamentals in kids when they would probably rather just wait for match time, but they will enjoy the game much more once they get the fundamental skills down pat!
Let them have fun with it
Naturally, you want to instil healthy habits for your child and their game. But the most important thing is to let them enjoy this wonderful sport and all the fun it has to offer. After all, footy is a social sport that for kids should be lots of fun, so they shouldn’t be pressured into becoming an “elite” player too early.
Sure, you might want to help them take their skills to the next level, but that doesn’t mean they have to train round-the-clock and outside of their club training sessions, either. There is plenty of time for training and plenty of time for them to enjoy things outside of the game, too!
Speaking of outside the game
It’s important for kids not to overlook their schooling in place for footy. Sure, many of us parents would love to see our kids become pros, but it’s important that they focus on their studies and work towards other skills outside of the game, too.
What’s more, clubs appreciate when players have skills and hobbies outside of the game as it shows a level of commitment to different interests and potential future careers. This all combines to create a more well-rounded player that enjoys the game but has fun outside of it, too!
Promote resilience
Kids can get pretty hard on themselves if they make a mistake in the footy game or their team has a difficult loss. It happens to literally every player in the game and it’s not something to dwell on. It’s important that you help your child understand that losing and making mistakes is part of the game and that the resilience to bounce back is the most important thing they can do for their game.
Mistakes are made and games are lost – it’s how you bounce back the next time that really counts!
Make sure they have a good rest
Even kids are susceptible to injuries and this is especially so if they don’t get enough post-match or training rest. Therefore, it’s important for them to have enough time to recuperate after their games.They don’t have to go running back onto the field the day after a match – take a break!
It’s good for health to be able to have a good amount of recovery time after what could have been a gruelling Saturday afternoon on the field.
