Dr Martin Longworth
Senior Lecturer in Sports Coaching & PE at Hartpury University
Formerly the First Team Assistant Coach and Academy Director at Cardiff Met FC, Martin holds a UEFA A coaching license and serves as an FAW Coach Educator.
Previously, Martin held a position as a lecturer of Sports Coaching and Performance at the University of Wolverhampton, showcasing a comprehensive understanding of both the practical and theoretical aspects of coaching and sports education
How would you define a parent’s role within the youth sports environment?
Parents play a pivotal role in the youth sports environment! Most importantly, they hold the responsibility to ensure the child can attend training/games, wear the correct kit, and at times, payment of fees. Without the aforementioned responsibilities, the child could not partake in the sport.
What are the benefits of embracing parental involvement in youth sports?
Every parent has their son/daughter’s best interest at heart. Even though at times this can be portrayed in a problematic and destructive manner, it is our responsibility to educate them on how to be effective and integral member of the club/academy. Providing a parent with a behavioural or expectation pack when their child joins can give them an opportunity to help not just their child be the best they can be, but also aid in the smooth running of the team/club.
How have you as a coach/club attempted to increase parental involvement?
We have embarrassed a few technological instruments within the past twelve months, but the most influential has been the introduction of ‘TeamApp’. This allows parents to see upcoming fixtures, months in advance and they can select if their child is available/unavailable, which helps the coach with squad selection. There is also an open forum where parents/guardians can chat about issues which we have found has been a good exercise, particularly as we are in our infancy as a WPL Academy.
While we did not want to take away the face-to-face interactions and fundamental relationships between coaches and parents we felt this would allow them to help in the proactive nature of planning and scheduling.
What challenges have you faced in attempting to increase the level of parental involvement?
Parents are inevitably going to want to provide their child with information, be that before, during or after performances. Managing their, at times, ‘inappropriate’ ways to relay information was something that has taken us a few months to iron out. I do want them to feel part of their child’s development but this can be in their development as a person, leave the sporting and technological feedback to the people who hold the necessary role within the sport’s settings. By shouting technical or even tactical ‘advice’ onto the pitch will almost certainly contradict that of the coach/team and will also make the child feel pressured and potentially apprehensive when playing.
Have you seen any difference in players when parental involvement is embraced not neglected and/or ignored?
We have seen a significant impact specifically, the interaction among parents on the sidelines. They spend less time ‘shouting’ on to the pitch, allowing the coach to ‘do their job’ and it has endorsed for a more fruitful learning environment. The term learning being key here as the parents now accept that it is our responsibility to aid in the sport-specific understanding and development of their child. I also feel that the children themselves are enjoying the environment more, it does help that the performances and individual/team development has significantly increased over the season but nonetheless, it has been a pleasure to work at the Academy since Christmas.
What advice would you give coaches that are unsure about increasing parental involvement within youth sports?
Embrace don’t neglect! Parents play a huge role in the development of their child and this should not stop when they play sports. The way in which they relay this responsibility is something which needs to be addressed.
For those parents unaware of their influential role, what advice would you give parents?
In a similar response to the last question, embrace responsibility don’t neglect it. Channel the responsibility into a way which can have a positive effect on your child’s development in sports. Asking questions is not a burden, I want parental involvement and I will help in any way necessary to help promote a fruitful learning environment.
Thank you to Martin for taking the time to complete the following interview questions.
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