1) Let your child have fun!
We’ve all seen it at tournaments, league matches and training, parents that shout at their child every time they lose a point, or miss a forehand when knocking up. If their child even begins to crack a smile they go nuts saying how table tennis is a serious game and should be played in the utmost seriousness at all times.
What needs to be remembered is that If a child is not enjoying their table tennis and their heart is not in it, they will never realise their full potential and eventually quit. This can even lead to children to resent their parent in the long run. What makes this particularly dangerous is the fact that short term extremely strict parents actually get their children to a very good standard in a short space of time but remember a table tennis career is a marathon not a sprint.
2) It’s not all about winning and ranking
Think of it this way, do you think Timo Boll, Marcos Freitas or Paul Drinkhall care about what their ranking was when they were 13 years old? Do they still care about that unexpected loss they took in a local tournament? No, no they don’t. Do they still care about what these setbacks taught them? Yes, they do and this is the whole point. like anything in life failing and learning from mistakes is the key to improving and this is the same with table tennis. So, try and instil this growth mindset into your child and always remind them whilst winning all of the time is enjoyable, you learn far more from your losses.
3) Make sure your child is eating and drinking correctly at tournaments
This is big one. As we all know table tennis tournaments can be highly stressful and exciting environments for children so they don’t always have time to think about what and when they should be eating. This is your time to shine. Make sure they are staying hydrated at all times and adequately fed. Adequately fed doesn’t mean rushing off to MacDonald’s at lunch time, adequately fed means prepare the night before, have healthy snacks packed that they can graze on throughout the day i.e. Bananas, oat bars, peanut butter sandwiches etc…
Also make sure that your child eats a healthy meal the evening before, something that is rich is carbohydrates so they can store the energy to use on the day of the tournament. Also make sure that they have a healthy breakfast, as most tournaments start very early so they need to be fuelled up right away. Foods that are easy and quick to digest like toast, bananas, low fat yogurts are perfect. When it comes to fluids science has shown that being only 5% dehydrated can result in performance diminishing by as much as 30%. So make sure they always have water on hand and that they are constantly sipping it throughout the day. Also avoid caffeinated energy drinks at all costs and stick to purely water based drinks.
4) Let the coach do their job
A lot of parents, some of whom have never played table tennis in their life, feel they have the expertise to tell their child’s coach exactly how their child should be training. It doesn’t matter what they are told or advised, they always know what’s best for their child. Whilst caring about the coaching your child is getting is extremely important you must let the coach do their job.
If your child isn’t showing any signs of improvement for a while try to be patient, there are big peaks and troughs when learning table tennis. The main thing is to remember is if they have a well-respected coach and they train hard and enjoy what they are doing they will improve.
5) Do not display negative emotions or make negative comments when your child is playing a match
There can’t possibly be anything more distracting for a child than to have their parents looking visibly frustrated or angry when playing a match or even in practise. Leave dealing with them during a game to their coach and if you are their coach between sets try to look at things from a logical perspective. Your child will have enough on their plate trying to deal with their own emotions let alone having to worry about yours as well. You are there for emotional support not for emotional hindrance.
All in all you must realise that you are vital and play an integral role in your child table tennis development. Dedicated parents are completely essential for their child to achieve great things providing emotional/financial support, travel for tournaments etc… but there is a fine balance that needs to be found.
