More than 20 million kids between the ages of 6 and 16 participate in organized sports. According to numerous studies, they participate because they want:

To have fun,

To improve skills and learn new ones,

To be with friends and make new ones,

To feel the excitement of competition,

To succeed or win,

To exercise or become fit.

As you encourage you child’s endeavors in skating, keep in mind that if the reasons your child has chosen to participate aren’t being fulfilled, your child may drop out of skating.

These guidelines should help you do much more than survive your and your child’s skating experience. It should equip you to enjoy it to the fullest and help you make it fun and valuable for your child.

To do this you need first to understand your responsibilities as a Skating Parent:

1. Encourage your child to skate, but don’t pressure. Let your child choose to skate – and to quit- if he or she wants.
2. Understand what your child wants from skating and provide a supportive atmosphere for achieving these goals.
3. Put your child’s participation in perspective. Don’t make skating everything in your child’s life; make it a part of life.
4. Make sure the coach is qualified to guide your child through the skating experience.
5. Keep winning in perspective and help your child do the same.
6. Help your child set challenging but realistic goals rather than focusing only on winning.
7. Help your child understand the valuable lessons skating can teach.
8. Help your child meet responsibilities to the coach.
9. Discipline your child when necessary.
10. Turn your child over to the coach at practices and competitions – don’t meddle or coach from the sidelines.