Mentor vs Meddler Vol. 3

Over the next few months, I’d like to highlight some of the traits we see in parents who act as mentors or meddlers in their junior's golf development. As you can imagine, a mentor plays a crucial role in offering positive support and guidance, while meddlers tend to disrupt the efficient development process by introducing unnecessary negativity, actions, or pressures. 

A Mentor Sport Parent...

• Team Player: A harmonious trio of athlete, coach, and parent, with the goal of emphasizing collaboration and exploration over domination and dictation. This approach creates a supportive and positive environment where the junior is empowered to learn and grow. It's a balanced dynamic that nurtures the junior's development and fosters a healthy relationship between parent and child.

A Meddler Sport Parent:

• Sideline Coach: They think they know better, but their unsolicited advice often disrupts the junior's strategy and undermines the coach. These parents can create added pressure and distractions for their child during competition, which can affect the child's confidence, enjoyment, and ability to focus on their performance. 

Golf is hard. Understanding that your junior will have their share of failures as well as successes is part of the journey. Value and highlight the great shots and good times knowing that this is a lifelong adventure and each junior progresses at their own pace. 

Be the calm in their game, not the chaos.