sports

Coffee Chat: The Sideline(d) Parent

| Mary Stoffel, MOT, OTR/L

Third grade really is a pivotal year—not just academically, but emotionally and socially— and in all the subtle ways, kids start stepping into themselves. It’s not just the shift in classroom expectations; it’s everything else.

This fall, my son joined kid-pitch baseball for the first time. He practiced endlessly on his pitching, determined to take the mound —and he did. Watching him struggle through his first inning, knowing I couldn’t step in or give him a quick pep talk between batters, was a moment that mirrored so much of what this school year has felt like so far.

And now, there’s the new line I hear more often from him: “I know, Mom.” It’s a small phrase, but it carries the weight of his growing away and me slowly finding myself on the sidelines. While I know this was bound to happen (our kids can’t stay little forever), it doesn’t make this quiet shift any easier.

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Child(ish) Review: Win Or Lose

| Patti Webb

Leave it to Pixar to effortlessly explain complex situations to kids. In the new long-form animated series Win or Lose, their animation team delivers the concept of “Everyone is going through something you have no idea about”.

The show centers around The Pickles, a middle school co-ed softball team in the week leading up to their big championship game. Each episode focuses on an individual character’s point of view and how their personal lives shape their perception of the team, school, and home. Laurie, the coach’s daughter, stresses over how to contribute to the team and make her father proud. Kai, the star player, pushes herself to the limits to avoid her dad’s criticism. Rochelle does whatever to make money so she can play next season. The series explores how different characters grapple with pressure and insecurity – whether it’s to seek approval, perfection, or stability.

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Child(ish) Reads: Raising Empowered Athletes

| Patti Webb

A little backstory for me. I was up in Virginia for work this past fall and was invited to come to my high school crew team’s afternoon practice. I was a crew coxswain for six years; starting in high school, through college and two years in Masters rowing. I’ve sat in on practices, but this was my first time a long while helping novice high school girls.

Crew is an amazing sport when it comes to culture, work ethic, and mental game. But the coach was quick to point out that he wasn’t seeing a lot of physical fitness and strength in this group of girls. While crew was fun and they enjoyed being on the water, they were still very much learning fundamentals and not speed. This is racing after all.

So how do you connect with a young person about being competitive? How do you motivate without turning into a zealous tiger parent? How young does this start?

Raising Empowered Athletes: A Youth Sports Parenting Guide for Raising Happy, Brave, and Resilient Kids by Kirsten Jones. Kirsten, a Hall of Fame DI volleyball player from The College of William and Mary, and fourteen-year NIKE executive, is now a motivational speaker, writer and Peak Performance Coach. Her clients include teen athletes (and their parents), where she helps them learn how to reach their goals and release their limitations. She co-hosts the #RaisingAthletes Podcast with Susie Walton on iTunes and Spotify.

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Finding your “Cricket”: Navigating your Child Interests

| Mary Stoffel, MOT, OTR/L

A little while ago, we watched the Bluey episode “Cricket.” It featured a pup named Rusty who was so passionate about the game of Cricket that he played it whenever he could. This made my son curious about why someone would be so dedicated to one thing. And so began our quest to help our child discover his own “Cricket.”

My son is currently playing baseball. While he enjoys playing the game, he is not as diehard as most of his friends and sometimes would rather stay home building Lego than practice. This season was the first time he realized that baseball may not be his “Cricket”. When we asked him what he does enjoy doing, he said he liked creating things, climbing trees and being outside, and playing video games. Aside from a few new activities, a few have remained constant: nature and building. So do we pursue the interests we already know, or try new avenues to see what sticks?

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My Own Worst Enemy: Kids and The Defeatist Mentality

| Mary Stoffel, MOT, OTR/L

It can be really heart-breaking (and equally frustrating) when we hear our kids say, “I can’t do it. It’s hard. I quit.” Giving kids challenging tasks can make them take a step back and reassess the situation, but what do we do when these thoughts completely influence their mindset and outlook?

Lately, Patti’s 6-year-old Z has been going through these bouts with reading and writing. If she misspells a word or has trouble sounding out a word, she gets heated, stops trying altogether, and then has a meltdown, claiming that everyone is being mean to her. To add a little detail, her sister and friends are slightly ahead of her in these subjects and she feels like she is either left behind or we’re being too hard on her.

From birth, kids quickly learn new skills and gain the confidence to use them. As they get older, that confidence allows them to trust their own capabilities and bounce back if they’re unsuccessful at something. We know resilience builds after facing setbacks. So, it’s tough to see our kids throw in the towel without trying.

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