About Donovan Sinton Expertise I can answer questions about different levels of development amongst young athletes. I can answer youth sport, high school, and even college level questions regarding physical, mental, and organizational issues with kids and sports. I would like to keep the questions specific to sports, coaching, drills, etc. I am not a psychiatrist or licensed physician although the psychosomatic (mind-body) connection as it pertains to sports is certainly within my expertise and interest
Experience I have over twenty years experience with coaching and advising young people at the youth, high school, and college level regarding physical and mental exercises, habits, and overall well being. I have been lucky enough to have been both an athlete and coach at the NCAA level
Organizations American Baseball Coaches Association
Expert: Donovan Sinton Date: 9/12/2007 Subject: 7 year old accountability
Question Hi There,
I have a 7 year old boy who plays football, hockey and basketball. I've put him in these sports because he says he wants to play and he says he has fun doing it. The problem is that he does not want to listen at practices/games and ends up disrupting things for the other kids. The coaches have asked me to talk to my child about his behavior and I'm at a loss.
I've tried many methods of dealing with the problem and nothing seems to work. He just keeps on doing his thing. I've always told him that it doesn't matter if he is the best on the field/court/rink just as long as he tries 100% and listens to his coaches and has fun while playing.
I've tried to sit down and talk to him calmly about how his actions are affecting his team and he still keeps going. I think my next step will be to tell the coaches that if he continues that they send him off the field and I will take him home as a last resort. I realize that he is only 7 and I should be taking everything with a grain of salt but I'm fearful that if I don't act now that this behavior will only get worse.
Any suggestions on how I could curb his behavior would be appreciated.
Answer You need to get this stopped immediately. First of all, he's 7 years old, so you should have full control over his behavior. If you don't, you may need to take a closer look at the amount of discipline you're imparting on your son. Playing sports is not a right, it's a privilege. A privilege that can be taken away if he doesn't follow the rules. The very first thing you need to do is sit him down and explain to him that this is not acceptable. Second, if he continues to be disruptive, you need to personally snatch him right off the field, floor, or rink and inform him that this privilege is being revoked until he can change his behavior. He may be embarrassed, but that may be exactly what he needs. After all, he's embarrassing you.
Develop a set of strict rules regarding his behavior and how it will correspond to his ability to participate in sports. This is a very simple concept, but you must be firm. The good news is that you caught this early. Please don't let it go any further for the sake of the other kids, your kid, and most importantly yourself.
Sorry this took so long. I've been having some e-mail issues. Please let me know if you need anything else and let me know how it goes. I'll be here if you need anything else.
