Little Athletes, Big Leaders...

Imagine never having played  a particular sport until age 20.

And then working hard and mastering skills so that over the course of the next decade and a half, you've progressed enough to play in the professional league of your sport AND win a couple of Grey Cup championships, along with being named a league all-star player...not once, but 3 times?

It really is an incredible story.

***

This is the story of  my fellow Acadia University graduate Bruce Beaton.

Bruce and I both started Acadia University in 1986, and over the course of my studies there, or rather, my social life there, I had the pleasure of meeting Bruce as a young football player.
He joined the Acadia Axemen Football team....having never played the sport before...but the coach saw potential in him and gave him  a chance.

We used to call him the "Gentle Giant" because although he was 6"5" and around 300 pounds, he was kind and thoughtful and had a very gentle manner about him.

He was well liked and respected by everyone who knew him.

Although Bruce and I left Acadia at different times, me to a full-time job and family,  and he to pursue his football career....I always followed his career through the media and marveled at what he had accomplished in his football career.

Bruce is now retired from the pros, and lives in my home community in Nova Scotia with his wife, Michele and 2 young children.

He is a very dedicated husband and father....he cherishes his wife & children above all else.

And he has recently written a book called,"Little Athletes, Big Leaders".

I had the privilege of receiving a signed copy from Bruce and I am so excited to be able to share my thoughts about his book here at Echoes of Laughter.

In this book,  Bruce has tackled the topic of effective sport parenting....giving advice and well thought out strategies and suggestions on how we, as parents of children in organized sport, can support, encourage and nourish our children as they participate in sport.

His message is child-centered....he explains in very clear ways how parents can create a family culture that supports the child as they grow in their sport.

Once I started reading this book...I found it hard to put down.

It has so much great information and so many inspirational quotes.

Little Athletes, Big Leaders is not only an incredible book on sport parenting, but an amazing book on the subject of well-rounded parenting as well.

I think that many of the strategies & methods that Bruce suggests would be useful in supporting your child in any endeavour...not just in sport.

It is full of advice that every parent should bring to the 'game' of parenting EVERY.SINGLE. DAY.

He has gathered solid evidence from the fields of sports psychology, science, sociology, and business management on how to create a positive environment for your child to thrive in while learning to work at and give effort to the task at hand.

I love how he suggests that parents focus on the approach to the game and NOT the results of the game.

And he stresses how the approach to the game is everything... the effort, daily work, the fun and the camaraderie of teammates...those are the lessons that our children take away and apply to their everyday life for years to come.

This book does an amazing job of empowering parents to make informed decisions about how to direct and support their child in a positive and loving manner that will yield a lifetime of happy results.

I think this is a book that every parent should have on their book shelf to read and refer to often as they guide their young children along in sport.

To learn more about how you can get a copy of this empowering book, please click here.

***

As parents, my husband and I have been very lucky in the fact that both of our children have been very passionate about their chosen sport at a young age.

Our daughter, Hunter, was 4 years old when she came to me and expressed her desire to 'learn to skate and twirl in a dress'. We enrolled her in CanSkate's Learn-to-Skate program and she has been skating ever since. She's now 15 years old.

{To read more about my daughter's passion for skating, click here.}

She has progressed through the figure skating testing stream- passing over 20 different skating tests to finally reach the 'gold level'. It has been a personal goal of hers for a number of years now to pass her gold level tests.... one of the highest levels a skater can attain.

She also participated in the sport of synchronized skating for 6 years...skating on 11 different teams at various levels.

She was fortunate enough to have had the experience of skating at the  Canadian Synchronized Skating Nationals...twice.

And let me qualify here by saying I have no background in the world of skating whatsoever.

None. Zilcho. I can't even skate.

But I have spent hundreds of hours at arenas over the last 10 years supporting my daughter in her love of skating.

For the 2010-2011 season, my daughter was on ice 10+ hours per week...not including off-ice practice, while maintaining honours at school and tutoring 4 elementary children weekly in french reading.

{I marvel at the time management skills she has learned at this young age!}

  I  have attended and watched every practice and every competition she has skated in, except for the last season when she, as a 14 yr. old, wanted more independence from Mom.

For years, I was the Mom who drove other girls to practice. I seldom went to practice with less than 2 skaters in my car. Many, many times I had 4 skaters in my car...driving to practice at 6-something in the morning in the coldest of weather.

And I always stood by the rink boards to watch my daughter skate.

To me, she was so beautiful to watch.

The only advice I ever gave to Hunter was to work hard, try her best and have fun. That's all I  ever asked of her.

However, I have been in the dressing room and rink side when I have heard other parents make disparaging remarks about other skaters. And I have heard parents make critical comments to their children which always took my breath away and made me feel crushed for that child.

I wish I could give a copy of this book to every parent out there who has a child in organized sport.

It takes a village, right?

In my opinion, Bruce has given the village an amazing message to share!