Here's What Happens When Parents Remove Pressure From The Sidelines

Jesse Mermuys is an Assistant Coach for the Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers). Before joining the Lakers, Mermuys was the Head Coach and Assistant GM of the Toronto Raptors D-League basketball team, the Raptors 905. Before his position with the Raptors 905, he was a former Assistant Coach for both the Toronto Raptors and the Houston Rockets, where he also worked as Director of Player Personnel.

In Mermuys' vast coaching experience at every level, players tend to put more pressure on themselves then they need to. Because kids are already putting so much pressure on themselves, Mermuys' advises that parents and coaches limit the amount of pressure they put on an athlete. When parents sit in the stands and just watch their kid play, and simply make a few positive comments after the game, the kids tend to play with more joy, make fewer mistakes, and perform better. The better job coaches and parents can do to reduce pressure, the more likely it is that kids will perform well.