How does team sports teach children about defeat, waiting their turn, and sharing? A guide on the role of parents in children's soccer for ages 4-8.
When you see a child crying on a soccer field, your first thought is that they're hurt. Most of the time you're wrong. The child is crying because they lost, and that's the most valuable thing on the field.
Defeat is a learnable skill.
Children aren't born knowing how to lose. Losing initially feels like an injustice: I played well too, why did we lose?
Team sports teach this twice a week, in a safe environment, without any real cost to the outcome. The child loses, gets upset, and then comes back the following week. This cycle is their first exercise in endurance.
The muscles that he will use when he fails an exam at school or experiences a disappointment in a friendship are developing here.
Waiting in line and passing the ball
Children between the ages of four and six are naturally egocentric. This is not a flaw, but a developmental stage. When they have the ball, they don't want to give it back because they haven't yet formed a cohesive team.
Football slowly solves this. When you see that a pass results in a goal, you experience that sharing is a gain, not a loss. It's something that can't be taught through explanation, it's learned through playing.
The most difficult job for a guardian: to remain silent on the sidelines.
A parent giving tactical advice from the sidelines during a game thinks they are helping their child. However, the child cannot simultaneously keep track of the ball, the coach, and you. They are caught between the three and often freeze.
The post-game question is also important. A parent who asks, "How many goals did you score?" teaches the child that their value lies in the number of goals scored. A parent who asks, "What did you enjoy most today?" makes the game itself valuable.
The kids who are still playing soccer a year later are usually the ones who hear the second question.
What is our goal?
It's not about training professional footballers. There are other options in Fethiye for children who want that kind of career.
Our job is to ensure that a child who loves football continues to love it, while simultaneously developing their coordination, fitness, and endurance. Some children progress from here, most don't, and that's perfectly fine.
The starting age for football is 4. Our winter term registrations are open.
For information: 0549 613 18 28
