How to Keeps Kids Spirits High after Match Defeats
01 August 2018
Losing a match is always hard, no matter the age of the player or the sport you are playing. For children though it can be hard to understand why they have lost, leaving their self-esteem and interest in the sport fragile. Every year, about 20 million children sign up for competitive sports. However, studies have shown that about 70 percent of children who play sports end up quitting by the time they are 15 years old.
Therefore, it is important to continually encourage and keep morale of the team up from the end of the match to the start of the next. Motivation, environment and interest are the key to help keep spirits high when a game is lost, according to experts. These pointers below can be used to ensure that students and children stick at sport and stay positive.
Motivation
Motivation is ideal to keep up morale, especially when it comes to students. There are two types of motivation that can be used to help spur school children on after a disappointing loss to help them see past it and hopefully go on to win their next game.
The first type of motivation is Extrinsic Motivation. Using external factors and rewards or punishments to help the team such as sweets, stickers or even having the chance to travel to the game in a comfy, clean and spacious minibus.
The second type of motivation is Intrinsic Motivation which appeals to internal desire and the rewards are personal. This can be used by the coach to directly motivate individuals who particularly feel like they didn’t play well. For example, coaches or captains can use this type of motivation to win a tournament but this would only happen through hard work and determination. It could be used through looking up and being inspired by particular sportsmen or women in a specific sport that will encourage them and motivate them to keep going and work hard.
Environment
Another way to keep inspired is by creating the right environment for the team to be in. This includes training, travel to and from matches and during the match. The environment needs to be fun, calming and comfortable. From making sure the transport is right for the team to the transport of the children. It all has an impact on the morale and atmosphere of a match.
Interest
Interest is a key reason to keep the morale up in sport, especially after a bad game. Keeping it fun is a big reason for this interest, especially for the younger children that are playing. Parents can get involved outside match time by incorporating silly games within training to make children have a giggle as well as improving their skills as a player.
A further way to keep children interested in a sport is to watch it and engage with it with the child particularly outside of their school or club it can be used to bond as well as encourage. Whether its going to watch a local team play football in the park, throwing a rugby ball around in the garden or even watching the hockey world cup on the television, it is a great way to combine and interest, grow a love and encourage a child to do well in their sport.
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