I’ve had four conversations with fathers of young athletes in the past two weeks.

A 14-year-old baseball player.
A Class of 2027 basketball recruit.
A Class of 2028 baseball recruit.
A college baseball player.

All of them stressed about situations they wish they could control.

I understood. I’m a father too.

Being a parent is hard.

We want the best for our children.
We want them to live up to their potential.
We want them to be happy.

We also want them to just listen to us.

When we do everything we can to help our kids, and the results don’t change, it is suffocating.

Over the past six years, I’ve learned that when parents reach their wits’ end, they seek help.

But here’s the thing…

These fathers didn’t ask me to fix anything.

They just wanted someone to listen.

So I listened. In a couple of instances, I listened for an hour.

I asked a question.
I injected a suggestion or insight.

But mostly, I just listened.

Sometimes, that’s all that’s required.

The same thing that causes an athlete to get stuck in their own head — trying to control what they can't — is the same thing that gets parents stuck too.

Perhaps I’m biased, but parents are the ultimate performers.

We try everything we can to generate successful results.

And yet, we sometimes fall short simply because we only control so much.

That’s when a simple, non-judgmental conversation can make all the difference.

Parents ask me to help their young athletes develop tools to become confident problem solvers in sport and life.

However, sometimes I need to be there for them too.

It’s a privilege.

Thank you,
Mike

P.S.

If you're looking for a place to start on your own mental game, I wrote about it here: 3 Things Sports Parents Can Do to Improve Their Mental Game.