Parental Involvement in Sport

Children involved in sport often find that there are several demands made on them from many diverse sources, such as team expectations, coach''s success and needs of the school or team. Particularly extremely talented children may represent their parent''s hopes for achievement, or may be considered as future international stars. The main issue for parents is finding the proper balance of support and encouragement, as well as understanding the influence their behavior may have on the way their children experience sport. Parents should become increasingly aware of the fact that children perceive and interpret parental involvement in different ways, and consequently have the desire for involvement in a way they perceive positively in their sporting career. The purpose of this book is to examine how a group of competitive adolescent swimmers experience parental involvement. The focus is to create awareness regarding possible negative perceptions in relation to parental involvement in children''s sport. Therefore, useful guidelines that may lead to positive involvement by parents and greater enjoyment of the sport by participants, the children,are highlighted.