It’s truly amazing how this journey into fencing rolls us forward and takes us to new places, on new journeys and into things that we’d never thought of. Getting going in this sport means reaching out and learning, as well as the incredible accomplishment that pushes us forward onto the life beyond the strip.
There are some things that I wish that I could go back and tell myself from those first days holding a fencing sword.
Where does greatness come from? Does it come from natural talent? Or the right teacher? Or a hearty work ethic?
The truth is that greatness doesn’t come from any one thing. As parents, we want to give our children the best and most opportunities that we can. And that’s a tough job. Not only are we responsible for teaching them, nurturing them and giving them a loving environment, but parents of athletes also find themselves being charged to motivate, train and guide their children through the challenges of high level performance.
The pitfalls are many when it comes to parenting an elite athlete, but keep in mind that you aren’t in this alone. There is guidance, and there are solutions for many of the problems that feel overwhelming. We’re going to lay out some of the common challenges that parents of elite fencers face, then give you guidance for how to address them.
Youth sport is more and more complex and competitive all the time. As fencers, we are confident in our sport and excited by the nurturing that we feel from the community. But that doesn’t mean that it’s easy, or that we as parents don’t constantly think about the challenges that we feel and whether we are doing the right things.
Here are a few questions that we find ourselves as parents asking:
Photo credit :http://www.funfeel.net/
I recently ran across this fantastic motivational tool, something that I found to be just mind blowing!
The concept is a simple one:
If “1” is 100% of your effort yesterday, then if today you do only by 1% more, you will do 1.01. If every day you do just 1% more than yesterday then the result is huge increment within 1 year!
Here’s another way to think about it.
What is the thing that we love most about fencing? It’s FUN!When a child first signs up for fencing, they see before them the cool factor – an adult is about to hand them a sword. There’s really very little that’s cooler that could happen to a child beyond that!
After a while, the coolness gives way to training, and more training, and hard work and sacrifice. These are good things, things that kids need to participate in. Things that make kids better, help them to grow. But they’re also things that are challenging for anyone, and especially for kids.
Keeping fencing fun is a great way to combat the struggles, and to help kids to learn some great skills that will carry them through life. Coping with stress by having fun is something that we can all learn from. Parents have the chance to step in and take action to keep that sense of fun and excitement in the sport for their young fencers!
How do you raise a girl who has high self esteem?
Empowering girls is important work for parents, not only because it helps them to feel good about themselves but also because positive self esteem leads girls to better decision making and success in life.
Girls who are empowered feel secure in who they are. They learn how to take action in life, how to make positive choices, and how to do positive things for others. They practice critical thinking. They are able to express the feelings that they are experiencing and also to understand the feelings and thoughts of others, then respond in caring and supportive ways.
They also have times of self doubt and insecurity, but because they have learned how to handle problems that come along, these feelings aren’t overwhelming.
Here are some ways that fencing helps girls to learn to be powerful and self confident.
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