Girls Sports – Parents Should Talk the Talk
Hope you don’t mind a suggestion: From the beginning, even as young as four-years-old, talk the language with your daughter. Whether you are watching sports on TV, shooting some hoops on the driveway, throwing the softball around in the backyard or playing some basement wall soccer, use the terms specific to each sport.
Coaches, instructors and parents alike tend to want to simplify in order to get the point across. Oftentimes, this comes at the expense of furthering the ability of these budding athletes to gain the early understanding that translates into real advantage during the learning process.
Case in point: Watching a T-Ball game a few months back, the parent-coach was admirably explaining to this most precious team that it is not always necessary to hit the ball real hard. Sometimes, he went on to say, you can just “tap the ball or hit it lightly.” A fantastic lesson for sure and impressive that he was even bringing in such strategy. But I was waiting for him to say, “and that is called a bunt.”
Another case in point: a parent knowledgeable in the sport of lacrosse was describing the actions of the players during a televised game. To his 9-year-old he commented that the team on offense was carrying the ball up the field in order to gain position to score. Why did he not introduce the term “cradle?”
Consider those times when you have heard fans, coaches or instructors speak about how a player is talented not only with regard to physical performance but also because she has the “smarts.” There is no question that knowledge/strategy can really contribute to growth in the sport and performance.
So give your young athlete a head start in the “smarts” department nice and early and talk the talk. Chances are she will standout as she executes plays or skills at a more advanced level before the rest.
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My son who actually has an interest in learning sports knows pretty much everything we can teach him because we’ve done this since early on. And honestly its true in ALL areas of life. We have talked to our kids like little adults since they were very young. Yes we did some baby talk in play time when they were very little but outside of that we didn’t use silly names for things or pretend they weren’t capable of understanding anything. As a result (not exclusively because of, of course) they are currently in second and third grade reading at 8th grade and above levels and testing above 99% in every other subject the test for!
So in general don’t talk down to your kids. You will be amazed what they are capable of!!!
As for sports, I just say thank god for Google because in teaching my 9 year old, he always comes up with follow up questions and often so in depth that I am not even sure of the answers!
Lisa – no doubt most kids are like sponges and actually appreciate learning and challenges at those tender young ages. And as you describe, the benefits later on are monumental. Thanks for sharing.
Lisa, I chose to parent similarly … I did not talk down to my two boys unless I was making a point. I was a single mom and simply did not have the luxury to. Every second I had with them mattered. My mother often ridiculed me for talking to them like “they’re little men”. I am glad I did though! Barbara makes such a great point in stating every chance we have can be a lesson. Lifting up young women is UBER important too, especially in this climate of talking women down! ..now that my “young men’ really are young men they are articulate, inquisitive and I am so proud