Community basketball clubs thrive when players, coaches, and families work together. The Oakleigh Raptor’s Basketball Program is built on attitude, development, and inclusion however, this is amplified when parents and guardians contribute with positive messaging to build confident and grow resilient young people.
Here’s how you can best support your little, or perhaps, not so little basketballer.
At junior levels, development matters more than wins and losses. Instead of asking:
“Did you win?
Try asking:
When children feel valued for effort, attitude, and improvement, they develop confidence and a growth mindset which leads to long-term success both on and off the court.
Children notice everything, so model the behaviour you want them to exhibit:
Sideline coaching can confuse players and undermine the coach’s message. Let the bench be the teaching space and let the sideline be the cheering zone.
Basketball teaches life lessons such as teamwork, adversity, leadership, and accountability. There will be tough losses, missed shots, limited minutes. Resist the urge to intervene to avoid disappointment. Instead, help your player reflect and grow with questions like:
Resilience is one of the greatest gifts that sport provides.
Most children start basketball because it’s fun and your role is to support that joy. Try to encourage smiles over statistics, effort of perfection and learning over outcomes. When basketball remains fun, our experience shows that development follows naturally! The best support you can give your basketballer is:
Together, players, parents, and coaches can build not just better athletes, but better people. See you on the courts!
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