As this next season of high school rolls around football season is on everyone's mind. Especially if you are in the south where some high school football programs are as big as a small college. A new season is a great time to talk about goals for your sons starting the new season. This article's intention is to talk about some of the great goals that you might set, some appropriate ways to help your children achieve them, and being supportive of the outcome.



Setting goals for your children

As a parent of a football player you have to be proud of the achievements of your son. The fact that they have made it through several cuts and summer camps is extraordinary. All this preparation is about to pay off in during the football season. So what are some goals that you can help your son set?

First of all remember that no matter how much goals you set for your child, the ones that count are the ones that are accepted wholeheartedly by your son. No one likes to be forced into anything, and if you are setting unrealistic or unachievable goals it is going to cause more stress than productivity. Every child has different capabilities, for some making 10 touch downs during the season will not be a good goal because it doesn't stretch their capabilities. For others the mean fact that they got on to the team is an achieved goal. It comes down to knowing not only your kid's capabilities, but also their passions. Our objective as parents is to mold their passions to a worthwhile goal that is capable, but also stretches them.

The most important thing that you can do is set aside some time to talk to your child about their goals. Perhaps they have already set some goals for themselves. If your son has already set a goal then encourage them to give it their all. Remember that your son is not only learning how to catch and play a game, they are learning goal making skills, practice, endurance, and teamwork that will help them the rest of their lives.

Helping your child achieve their goals

Now that you have talked about and set some goals with your child, how are you going to help them achieve it? Support! First, make sure that you write these goals down on a piece of paper. It has been said that a goal unwritten is only a wish. Others have said that merely writing down a goal increases the commitment and achievement of that goal by 50%.

Second, revisit your son's goals from time to time. Perhaps a goal was accomplished early in the season and there is still time to make another goal. Or perhaps a goal that was made is causing overdue stress on your child, in this case it would be wise to break the goal up into smaller pieces or change the goal altogether.

Third and most important is to be supportive of your son's commitment. Give them reminders with love when they are not working rather than nagging or yelling. Be there at the games when they perform to their best. Listen to them when they talk about practices.

Be supportive of the outcome

Always be supportive of the outcome. Remember that goals are made to focus our energy toward an end result. If that end result was accomplished then celebrate. Take your son out for dinner, have a party, or give them a gift. Be careful that you don't make the reward greater than it should be. Perhaps you can hold out on the new car for something other than surviving a first day's practice. Most of the time giving encouraging words or congratulations is reward enough for the achieved goal.

If your son fails to accomplish the goal then it is time for a heart to heart talk and an evaluation of what has been accomplished. If you look at great athletes, many of whom do not get gold metals or super bowl rings, they still apply what they have learned, and are back next season with a redoubled effort .

Conclusion

As parents we can have a great influence on our children. When they start their next season of high school football it is important to sit down with them and go over their goals. Let them know that you love them and will support them in these goals. Then whether they accomplish or improve point out the improvements, rework the goals and push on through the rest of the season.