PCA Resource zone

Supporting Parents/Caregivers Who Can’t Attend Games

A positive sports parent/caregiver can contribute to the team community by fostering a sense of belonging amongst their peers. When all parents/caregivers feel engaged in the team, they’ll be able to best support their athlete in gaining the benefits of a positive sports experience. Unfortunately, not all parents/caregivers are able to attend games due to outside circumstances – such as availability, work, distance, lack of child care, or other commitments. The strategies below will help positive sports parents support their peers and, ultimately, help create a positive experience for all athletes involved on the team. 

Sports Parents/Caregivers Can:

  • Approach parents who are unable to attend games with empathy and understanding
    • Parents/caregivers can start by recognizing that each family experiences their own set of circumstances and avoiding judgement of their ability to attend games. 
    • Recognize that they may experience feelings of guilt or exclusion from the team community that can affect their mental well-being.1
  • Advocate for and actively use a communication platform
    • Connect with other parents/caregivers and determine an accessible, effective method to communicate amongst the team community. Actively use this communication platform to coordinate transportation, provide game updates, and keep all parents/caregivers connected to the team.
    • Apps like TeamSnap can be used to provide roster information, game and practice schedules, custom parent/caregiver chat groups, and score and stat updates. 
  • Implement Parent/Caregiver partnerships
    • Pair up parents/caregivers into partnerships that aim to provide each other any support they may need. For instance, if one pair of the partnership is unable to attend a game, the other can:
      • Provide updates on the game and how their athlete is doing. 
      • Actively cheer and encourage the athlete whose parent/caregiver couldn’t attend.
      • Send pictures/videos of plays by their athlete
  • Share tools with the team community
  • Start a ‘Team Parent/Caregiver’ program
    • A team parent/caregiver can be a volunteer or committee of volunteer parents/caregivers who:
      • Surveys parents/caregivers on the challenges they may need support in overcoming.
      • Leads communication with parents/caregivers on team activities, game updates, and scheduling.
      • Organizes and manages travel (i.e. carpools, public transportation groups, walking groups, etc.)
      • Brings new families into the fold by connecting them with other parents/caregivers.
  1. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9512965/