Here are links to help you understand our expectations for parents, and understand what we do, and why we do what we do. There are also links to articles from child development experts about being a supportive parent and helping your daughter get the best out of her experience as an athlete.
What do we expect from parents?
- Arrange to get your daughter to training and games on time.
- Be supportive of your daughter and her teammates. Be your daughter’s biggest fan, and the other players’ 2nd biggest fan.
- You’re welcome to cheer from the sidelines! (This is supporting or encouraging communication.) But we ask that you don’t coach (i. e., give directions to) your daughter or any other players from the sidelines. (This is distracting communication.)
- Please stay informed and keep the coaches informed. Each Academy group has one or more communication channels. Please make a point of checking the appropriate channel(s) on a regular basis.
- When fees are due, please pay them promptly.
NTH parent guidelines:
- Parent guidelines for training sessions
- Parent guidelines for game days
- “What to expect?” relating to our first fall season game day
- Double-header play
- Team assignments and levels of play
- The downsides to coaching from the parents’ sideline
General soccer information:
- Soccer rules primer
- Dealing with player injuries
- Nesquick simple Game Day Eating guide
- Success in Soccer’s nutrition tips (very detailed)
Being a supportive parent and helping your daughter achieve her potential:
- Article: In-game communication: helpful or distracting? (from the Soccer Parenting Association. Their mission: “Inspiring Players by Empowering Parents.” This article doesn’t just offer suggestions, it also explains the who / what / when / where / why components for the suggestions.)
- Soccer America’s Youth Soccer Insider: good source of info for parents of youth players
- How to navigate your child’s path (article about evaluating youth soccer options)
- Dump the GPS and let the kids drive (article about players making their own decisions during games)
- Mia Hamm’s advice for girls, parents and coaches
- Article: heading a soccer ball
- Article: How Parents Can Look To Develop Young Soccer Players
- Article: 7 questions every soccer parent should ask (from the Soccer Parenting Association. Their mission: “Inspiring Players by Empowering Parents“)
- Article: A Lesson from Christian Pulisic’s Parents (Pulisic is a rising star for the US Men’s National Team)
- Article: Raising an Athlete
- Article: Youth Sports: What I Care About (written by a parent with multiple kids in multiple sports)
- Article: comparing great sports parents and nightmare sports parents
- Article: avoiding 3 common parental pitfalls
- Article: about evaluating young players (coaches and scouts don’t always get it right!)
- Article: Silence is Golden (written by Todd Beane, son-in-law of soccer legend Johan Cruyff)
- Article: Making the switch from recreational to competitive soccer
- Article: Supporting soccer homework
- Article: Don’t steal the reps (written by John O’Sullivan, founder of the Changing the Game Project. Their mission: “ensure that we return youth sports to our children, and put the ‘play’ back in ‘play ball.‘
- Article: Five mistakes soccer parents make with their players (from SoccerWire.com)
- Play soccer with your daughter in the yard! If you have a soccer background, you’ll earn “cool parent” points for being a baller. If you don’t have any playing experience, you’ll gain an appreciation for what’s easy and what’s hard, and you’ll still earn “cool parent” points for sharing quality time with your daughter.
- Interview: Thoughts from one of Emily Sonnett’s U10 coaches. (Emily grew up playing at United Quest and NASA, and was a member of the US Women’s 2019 World Cup team.)
- Article: Youth Sports is a Journey, Not a Destination (from the Soccer Parenting Association. Their mission: “Inspiring Players by Empowering Parents“)