This workshop was one of the components in the LTAs parents in tennis month 2022. Prior to attending workshop parents were asked to have a read through the sports parenting guide. There is also a video on the LTA website which briefly outlines the workshop contents watch the brief video on their website found under stage 1. The objective of the workshop was to equip parents (with children between the ages of 9 and 14 years) with the knowledge and skills to optimally support their child at tennis competitions. I participated in the activities during the workshop despite not being a parent myself and found them very insightful.
Below is a promotional video by the LTA about the tennis parent workshops
So what did I learn about this experience? I had not previously considered the struggle parents experience when trying to navigate their communication around the tense period that is competition. Many parents had expressed confusion prior to the workshop as to what was best practice, as they found their child often got annoyed or upset with their interactions around competitions. The guidance regarding emotional demands of the sport, illustrating that sometimes the car ride home isn’t the best time to discuss the game was received well. I learnt a lot as they expressed the different ways they tried to advise their child on their performance. Children have been shown to disengage from the interaction when parents expressed authority or knowledge about how the child would perform in competition (Thrower et al., 2022). Based on empirical findings simple guidance was given during the workshop such as asking ‘wh-questions’ that enabled children to talk about their own areas to focus on, lead to extended sequences of affiliative talk.
Now what? I now understand the importance of involving the parents when working with young athletes, and how this can be done in an effective way. The parents of the children were eager to gain knowledge on about how to effectively interact with their child and were given a copy of the slides and were told to refer back to them and the supporting videos as they saw fit. The parents who attended also set up a WhatsApp group for guidance on any future issues they wished to discuss between themselves. The parents after the session commented on the confidence they now have and enthusiasm to implement the skills they’ve learned when they next attend a competition with their child.