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Home My WebLink AboutClinton News Record, 2015-08-26, Page 44 News Record • Wednesday, August 26, 2015 f www.clintonnewsrecord.com Clinton News Record PUBLISHED WEEKLY — EST. 1860 53 Albert St. P.O. Box 39 Clinton ON NOM 1L0 (519) 482-3443 www.clintonnewsrecord.com POSTMEDIA MARIE DAVID Group Advertising Director - Grey Bruce Huron Division 519376-2250ext514301 or510364-2001 ext531024 A Am NEIL CLIFFORD Advertising Director neil.clifford@sunmedia.ca LAURA BROADLEY Reporter clinton.reporter@sunmedia.ca DAWN JOHNSTON Sales Representative cli nton.ads@sunmed ia.ca TERESA SMITH Front Office clinton.classifieds@sunmedia.ca SUBSCRIPTION RATES 1 YEAR $50.00 (47.62+2.38 GS1) 2YEAR $95.00 (90.48+4.52 GS1) SENIORS 60 WEEKS $50.00 (47.62+2.38 GS1) 120 WEEKS $95.00 (90.48+4.52 GST) Advertising is accepted on the condition that in the event of a typographical error, the advertising space occupied by the erroneous item together with a reasonable allowance for signature, will not be charged but that balance of advertisement will be paid for at the applicable rate. In the event of a typographic error advertising goods or services at a wrong price, goods or services may not be sold. Ad- vertising is merely an offer to sell, and may be withdrawn at anytime. The Clinton News -Record is not responsible for the loss or damage of unsolicited manuscripts, photos or other materials used for reproducing purposes. Publications Mail Agreement No. 40064683 RETURN UNDELIVERABLE CANADIAN ADDRESSES: CIRCULATION DEPARTMENT 53 Albert St., Clinton ON NOM 1L0 (519) 482-3443 We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Canadian Periodical Fund (CPF) for our publishing activities. Canada Member of the Canadian Community Al OCn1 Newspaper Association and the Ontario Community Newspapers Association opinion Try these tips to be a better hockey parent Summer is winding down and the sounds of skates, sticks and pucks are starting to fill local arenas as players of all ages begin prac- tising for the upcoming hockey season. Parents who want the best for their children will spend hours worrying about try -outs, coach- ing, equipment, off -ice training, and schedules. Current thinking, however, suggests the best thing parents can do for their young athletes is re-examine their own atti- tude (or approach) to sport. As a parent, you want the best for your child, but have you considered that your efforts might actually set them back? It's no secret that athletes who are highly motivated by an internal desire to do well tend to have better careers than ath- letes whose main motivation is a parent pushing them. Sport psychology has shown that ath- letes with intrinsic motivation for their sport demonstrate more persistence which makes them more willing to put in the training required for long-term success, compared to athletes with extrinsic motivations. Recently, researchers have begun to identify ways in which parents can help improve their child's intrinsic motivation. It turns out that being the pushy hockey parent is not the best way to motivate a young athlete. The first thing you can do as a parent is be positive about your child's sport experience. Stud- ies have found that children have the tendency to take on their parents' attitudes. So if you disagree with the referee over what you think is a bad call, insult other players, or talk poorly about your child's coach, well, guess what? Your kid is going to see that and think it's OK, which will under- mine the positive experiences your child can draw from hockey. It's those positive experi- ences that lead to intrinsic motivation, which helps ath- letes of all ages and skill work through the challenges they face in sport. Another thing you can do is let your child make decisions. Extensive research has found that athletes who are given opportunities to make choices and provide feedback about their training experiences are more motivated than their peers. This does not need to happen on the ice. Simply letting them decide how much extra training they do, having them choose how early they arrive to the rink before a game and asking them to interpret how they felt their practice or game went can improve their motivation quality. Finally, another important thing you can do is help your child focus on bettering them- selves and not beating the other kids. This is called "task - involvement" in sports psychology. When someone is task - involved, they are focused on improving their skills, mastering their technique and are invested in the process, instead of focused on results or beating others. Research has shown that this kind of focus promotes the good, intrinsic motivation that is criti- cal for long-term success. It's also easy to help your young athlete develop this skill. When you are giving your child feedback about their game or practice, instead of focusing on the goals they scored, or not, focus instead on the quality of their passing, their use of space, their ability to read the game and other players, and their speed and skating quality. To incorporate all three of these tips into one strategy, sim- ply ask your kid about their prac- tices and games and have them tell you the good and the bad. Guide them to talking about skills if they're too focused on scoring goals. As a parent, by incorporating these subtle changes to your behaviour, you can help promote a positive experience for your athlete, which will help foster intrinsic motivation and lead to long-term commitment and suc- cess in their sport. Meredith Rocchi is a PhD can- didate in the School of Psychology at the University of Ottawa where she studies sport motivation, with a focus on understanding what impacts coaches' and athletes' motivation. Outside of her research, she is a skating coach and is actively involved in many of Ottawa's local sport communities. Thnkng about quittio17.*smokersGE.RE TOLL-FREE 1-877-513-5333 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR The News Record welcomes letters to the editor. All letters must be signed and include a daytime phone number for verification purposes. Letters can be sent care of the Internet at clinton.reporter@sunmedia.Ca, sent via fax at 519-482-7341 or through Canada Post care of The Edi- tor, P.O. Box 39, Clinton, ON NOL 1LO. CLINTON NEWS RECORD — HOURS OF OPERATION MONDAY: 9:00 - 5:00 • TUESDAY: - CLOSED • WEDNESDAY: - 9:00 - 5:00 • THURSDAY: - 9:00 - 5:00 • FRIDAY: - 9:00 - 5:00 • SATURDAY & SUNDAY: - CLOSED ADVERTISING DEADLINE: FRIDAY AT 2:00 • PHONE 519-482-3443 • FAX: 519-482-7341 www.clintonnewsrecord.com