Following are just a few of the negative sports statements that I hear all the time and that start to wear on kids. “What were you thinking on that play?” “Why did you do that?” and “I can’t believe you didn’t play better” are just a few of the negative sports statements that start to eliminate kids’ sports-playing desire.

As young athletes age and struggle with sport success, the adult statements begin to turn accusatory and much more damaging to a child’s self-esteem. “Why didn’t you do what I told you to do? “You have to practice more” and “I thought you wanted to play” now come into play.

The final piece to the destruction of kid’s desire and fun is done with statements like, “ You are embarrassing me,” “You will never get anywhere playing that way” and “ I am not paying for you to play if that is how you are going to play.”

Adults must realize that it is very difficult to succeed in sports for most youth. Sports success requires many things including genetic talent, hard work, good coaching, and luck, just to name a few things. Young athletes, who do not have the good fortune of those ingredients, often quit playing sports at a young age. That is an understandable reason to stop playing and is the child’s choice, which is whose decision it should be. What is not understandable is the young athletes who lose the fun and desire to play because of the unnecessary and unrealistic expectations put on them by adults who display the aforementioned behavior. With that in mind, following are behavior tips for adults so that they are not the reason why kids lose their desire to stop playing youth sports.