10 tips for Junior Cricket Parents

At The Cricket Asylum we're committed to and take a holistic approach to all player's development, and understand the challenges of having a child going through their cricketing journey. Whether it be club level or progressing through representative cricket ranks, we have a few tips for parents to help make the whole process more enjoyable and beneficial!

Feel free to comment with your own thoughts and experiences!

1- It’s their game.

Many parents struggle to find the balance between positive support and getting over invested in their child’s game. Ask what they want, ask what you can do to support them on their cricketing journey. It’s their game!

2- Support the coaches & volunteers.

The majority of team managers and coaches will be willing volunteers who have their own job and family. They will hopefully be making their decisions based on the whole team and junior section. Try to see things from that wider whole squad perspective.

3- Don’t be that shouty parent.

Now maybe if they’ve kicked their stumps over after being given out that would call for a parental intervention! But to chastise a child for poor performance when they’ve tried their best does not help anyone. Choose your time carefully, ask if they enjoyed the game and how they think they played.

4- Don’t compare.

Comparing your child’s performances to that of their peers, whether in a positive or negative way, can have a negative impact on their mindset. Encourage them to enjoy their team mates successes and support their failures.

5- Encourage learning from failure.

Nobody likes to fail, or likes to see their child fail. But as much as it’s a cliché, every failure is an opportunity to learn and develop. Again, asking them how they think they’ve done can create a productive conversation.

6- Silence is ok.

The car journey to and from games, trials and training is a crucial time. Use it to have fun, listen to music and chat about things outside of school and sport. And if they’re quiet which lots of teenagers will be, that's ok let them have that silence, don’t make it a lecture to and from the game!

7- Body language.

Children want to impress their parents, body language can be all they see during games and training. Cheering wickets and runs is the easy bit, offering a smile and positive body language when they fail can go a long way.

8- Be realistic.

Becoming a professional player is a reward reserved for way less than 1% of junior players. So should we base our attitude as parents around that percentage? Support their long term love of the game and embrace the many life lessons they will learn along the way.

9- Respect the umpires!

Whatever the decision (which both teams will have viewed from their own biased perspective!) refrain from questioning decisions during games or after the game in front of your child. This can lead to them making excuses, and more importantly lead to them showing a lack of respect to officials themselves in the long term.

10- Enjoy the journey with them!

Lots of don’ts in this list, but as parents you’re the most influential people in your child’s sporting journey! Enjoy the ups and embrace the downs with positivity and support. And whether they end up playing for England or giving up at 18, it will have all been worth it!

If you want to learn more we recommend checking out Working with Parents In Sport, their website has loads of great content and a new book that's just been released!

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