Most parents think they’re helping.
Many are simply reducing discomfort.
Protecting from failure.
Fixing mistakes immediately.
Blaming coaches.
Chasing teams and selections.
It feels supportive.
But under pressure, those habits often show.
Athletes hesitate.
They look to the bench.
They fear mistakes.
They struggle to recover.
Over-protection doesn’t build confidence.
It builds dependency.
The parents who build long-term, resilient athletes think differently.
They allow struggle.
They allow failure.
They allow silence after a bad game.
They don’t rush to rescue.
Resilient athletes are built through:
Ownership.
Adversity.
Accountability.
Recovery.
Not constant reassurance.
Short-term comfort creates long-term fragility.
Long-term growth requires short-term discomfort.
If an athlete struggles under pressure, it’s rarely about talent.
It’s about how they’ve been taught to respond when things get hard.
Great players are not built in comfort.
They’re built in challenge.
And the parents who understand that, think differently.