Why parents should look past today to better their children's future

By Janis Meredith | Posted 6/12/2017

It’s hard to think about who your young athlete will be tomorrow when you’re bogged down in today’s game. Today brings stress about playing time, worry about injuries, conflicts with coaches, and concerns about mental toughness. Today is all-consuming. 

We always told our athletes to live one day at a time, to play one game at a time and work through one season at a time. However, while encouraging your kids to live one day a time, as parents you must also keep tomorrow at the back of your mind.  

You see, today, your children are just “your children” and today their lives are consumed with playing sports. It’s easy to get lost in the weeds of today and forget that there’s more ahead for them beyond their youth sports journey. 

Tomorrow, your children are going to be other peoples’ husbands and wives, and the parents of your grandchildren. They’re going to be bosses and presidents and CEOs. They are going to be politicians and doctors and firefighters and teachers. 

How you raise your athletes today will determine who they will be tomorrow. How you love and guide your children today will determine what tomorrow looks like for a lot of other people.  

Youth sports is one of those arenas full of opportunities to focus on raising strong individuals with influence, courage, and compassion. Tomorrow, those are the things that will really matter.  

Sometimes it’s hard to see past today in youth sports. Frustrations, setbacks, and conflicts fog will fog your ability to see anything past today. But if you want to prepare your child for adulthood, you’ve got to part the weeds and see the real goal of youth sports, the bigger picture of what it can accomplish in your kids. 

Do you want your kids to make a positive impact in their world? Do you want them to help and lead others? Do you want to know that the years you sacrificed for them were not in vain and that they are paying the love and compassion forward to their own kids and grandkids? 

Then start looking past today. Remember, that tomorrow a lot of folks will be depending on your children. 

Janis B. Meredith is a sportsparenting blogger, podcaster, and life coach. She provides resources to help parents give their children a positive and growing youth sports experience. Her book 11 Habits for Happy & Positive Sports Parents is available on Amazon.

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