One of the goals in youth sports is to help kids learn to be leaders. But the problem is that while many coaches and parents look for natural born, charismatic leaders, they often overlook some of the strongest leaders on the team. When my son played quarterback, his coaches sometimes got frustrated with him because he was not a rah-rah leader. He wasn\u2019t a cheerleader who pumped players up on the sidelines or on the field. They wanted him to be more vocal and authoritative. They mistook his calm demeanor as a lack of passion. But that couldn\u2019t have been further from the truth.<\/p>\n
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You see, my son\u2019s style of leadership was relational, not rah-rah. He was a leader because all of his teammates respected him. He was a leader because his teammates knew he would take all the blame, and none of the glory. Every one of his offensive linemen had his back and did their best to protect him. He was a leader just because of who he was<\/em>. Rah-rah leaders are important. Every youth sports team needs to have one. But don\u2019t overlook the relational leaders that command respect because of their humility, work ethic and dedication.<\/p>\n If your child is like my son, then he may be on a youth sports team where he is overlooked as a leader. If so, perhaps this parenting advice will help you boost his confidence in his leadership style.<\/p>\n If your child feels overlooked because they are a relational and not a rah-rah leader, remind them that people are watching and listening, and that their influence will<\/em> be felt.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" One of the goals in youth sports is to help kids learn to be leaders. But the problem is that while many coaches and parents look for natural born, charismatic leaders, they often overlook some of the strongest leaders on the team. When my son played quarterback, his coaches sometimes got frustrated with him because […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":1782,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[42,45],"tags":[147,190,18,684],"class_list":["post-1781","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-coaches","category-parents","tag-how-to-be-a-good-sports-parent","tag-parenting-advice","tag-youth-sports","tag-youth-sports-coaching"],"yoast_head":"\nIs Your Child Overlooked?<\/h4>\n
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