Positive Sport Parent | Empowering parents to encourage and inspire their children to achieve their full potential through positive sporting experiences

Exercising in the heat – make your children aware

By Mary Ann Dove - Performance Coach | Published: January 12, 2016

Many parts of the southern hemisphere, particularly Southern Africa are currently experiencing unseasonably hot weather conditions. This has implications for all people exercising and playing sport in such conditions, but even more at risk for heat related illnesses are children whose physiological and structural differences impact on their ability to respond to environmental heat. Heat […]

Let’s STOP Inappropriate Aggression in Youth Sport

By Mary Ann Dove - Performance Coach | Published: October 28, 2015

Over the past number of years we have witnessed an increasing level of aggression on our sports fields both locally and around the world and involving all stakeholders in the sports participation process. There is a wide variety of examples – a water polo player being punched in the face, deliberate fouling in the front […]

Sport supplements and young athletes: part 3 – Natural High

By Nicki de Villiers - Registered Dietician | Published: May 24, 2015

Our final article in this series focuses on vitamin, mineral and omega-3 supplements. VITAMINS AND MINERALS Young athletes’ needs for vitamins and minerals are greater than those of non-active children. Although the thought is often that supplements will enhance their health and performance through vitamin and mineral supplements, there is little scientific evidence to suggest […]

Sport supplements and young athletes: part 2 – Performance Boosters

By Nicki de Villiers - Registered Dietician | Published: May 13, 2015

Following our first article in this series, which focused on energy-related supplements, this 2nd article focuses on supplements that are deemed to boost performance. CAFFEINE Athletes often take caffeine through the intake of energy drinks, sports drinks or coke before and during training or competition. Claims: Caffeine will enhance endurance, performance, concentration, motivation and mental […]

Sport supplements and young athletes, part 1- Carbo Kick

By Nicki de Villiers - Registered Dietician | Published: March 25, 2015

Many young athletes take nutritional supplements, often without really knowing what they are or how they work. Do young athletes really need supplements? Are they likely to benefit or harm their performance? What are the possible effects on long-term health? The fact that many adult athletes take supplements does not mean they are safe or […]

Spectator Behaviour at Youth Sporting Events

By Mary Ann Dove - Performance Coach | Published: March 20, 2015

There is an alarming increase in inappropriate parental behaviour at youth sporting events worldwide. Many of us have witnessed parents shouting, screaming and even swearing at their children, the referee/umpire and coaches during sports events. In some instances there has been physical abuse and in extreme cases weapons used. Is this what youth sport is […]

Emotions in sport – the highs and lows are both important!

By Greg Wilmot - Sports Psychologist | Published: July 28, 2014

It may sound completely bonkers but it has often been said that it is “valuable” for a team to lose the occasional match. What? Surely a team should try and win each and every match played! Any sensible and sensitive parent never enjoys it when their child’s team loses! What about having to deal with […]

Are you a responsible parent? A walk-through on kids sports insurance

By John Sadler | Published: March 4, 2014

Encouraging our kids to engage more in sports to be more physically active is one of the major challenges of parenthood. More and more parents are trying to fight the increasing level of childhood obesity in the USA and around the world which has doubled for the past 30 years. While we push our kids […]

Parental role in managing children’s sporting injuries

By Mary Ann Dove - Performance Coach | Published: August 13, 2013

We all know that playing sport has a number of benefits for our children such as improved fitness levels, self-esteem, coordination and self-discipline; however it can also put them as risk of incurring sports injuries. These injuries range from minor scrapes and bruises to more traumatic injuries like a broken leg or overuse conditions such […]

General Principles of Injury Treatment and Prevention

By Shelly Malan - Biokineticist | Published: July 26, 2013

Participating in sport has not only been found to be beneficial for physical development in children and adolescents, but can also result in better academic performance such as; higher grade-point averages, higher graduation rates, fewer school absences, less discipline referrals, and increased success at university or college compared to non-athletes (McGuine, 2006). Involvement in sport […]

Body image and eating disorders among adolescents 3

By Nicki de Villiers - Registered Dietician | Published: July 5, 2013

Prevention Strategies In this our final article in the series we look at prevention strategies and some educational messages. Prevention is better than cure and strategies to prevent disordered eating should be implemented early to avoid body image dissatisfaction. It is more difficult to change unhealthy eating behaviour and disturbed body image attitudes once established. […]

Fear of failure: What if your child loses?

By Greg Wilmot - Sports Psychologist | Published: June 11, 2013

In contemporary sport, whether professional- or school-level, there is an overwhelming focus on winning results, the applauding heroes, ‘man-of-the-match’ performances, try-saving tackles, victory celebrations long into the night and, as the saying goes, “No one remembers who came second.” While this may be true for some instances, almost everyone remembers the person who missed an […]

Victory for a working athlete – Claude Moshiywa

By Mary Ann Dove - Performance Coach | Published: June 3, 2013

Claude Moshiywa (38) became the 1st South African male since 1992 to win the “Up” run (from Durban to Pietermaritzburg) of the iconic 90km Comrades Marathon yesterday. What made this run so extraordinary is that Claude in not a full time athlete unlike most of the leading runners who compete in events of this nature. […]

Paediatric Hydrotherapy

By Leanne Bossinger | Published: May 17, 2013

Hydrotherapy (therapy in water) has always been one of the preferred therapy options, for adults, children and even animals. However, limited appropriate facilities mean that it is not used enough in South Africa. This article sets out to provide parents with some more information about this therapy option, what it can be used for with […]

Selecting appropriate role models for our children

By Martin Scheepers - Sports Psychologist | Published: April 5, 2013

Tiger Woods, Lance Armstrong, Oscar Pistorius….they all share common characteristics…athletes, elite athletes, world famous elite athletes…the cream of their respective sporting codes… An additional – and unfortunate characteristic of the aforementioned athletes (and many more before them and many more to come!) – concerns their fall from grace. Over and above the demands of overcoming […]

Has school sport lost its way?

By Mary Ann Dove - Performance Coach | Published: March 12, 2013

Over the past couple of months a number of stories would lead one to believe that school sport has become more than just a game, but rather “win at all costs”. A girl’s primary school in Bloemfontein has introduced a parents’ code of ethics. Two of Durban’s biggest schools will not play first team sport […]

Role of parents in positively encouraging their children

By Mary Ann Dove - Performance Coach | Published: January 18, 2013

Following the Lance Armstrong interview with Oprah Winfrey and the introduction of a Code of Conduct for Parents by a primary school in Bloemfontein, South Africa, Positive Sport Parent Founder, Mary Ann Dove, spoke with Kieno Kammies on 567 Cape Talk this morning. Click here 567 PSP Interview to hear what she had to say about the role […]

How do I “temper” my over involvement?

By Maurice Aronstam - Sports Psychologist | Published: November 21, 2012

I had an interesting conversation with a top South African Equestrian rider on our flight back from Cape Town a few weeks ago. He has had years of experience in coaching, training horses and competing at the top level himself. Our conversation turned to parenting and he made the comment that the ONLY common denominator […]

Body image and eating disturbances among adolescents 2

By Nicki de Villiers - Registered Dietician | Published: November 20, 2012

In this 2nd part in the series we look at the causes and warning signs of eating disorders, how it affects performance and how to assist an athlete who presents with an eating disorder. Causes of Eating Disorders in young Athletes There is no single cause of eating disorders or disordered eating in young athletes. […]

Body image and eating disturbances among adolescents 1

By Nicki de Villiers - Registered Dietician | Published: October 8, 2012

This is the first in a 3 part series on the subject of body image and eating disturbances which affects a number of young sports people. Young people are constantly bombarded with messages and images of the ideal body. This ideal body is often portrayed as unrealistically thin or overly muscular. In contrast to this […]

U14s versus U18s – training at the right level

By Greg Wilmot - Sports Psychologist | Published: September 13, 2012

Progressing through High School there are two notable skill and physical challenges a young sportsman or woman face; the transition from Under 13 to Under 14 level and again from Under 16 to Open. In these two stages there is a huge leap in the physical and skill-related demands placed on younger athletes as they […]

Conditioning in early adolescent sports people

By Shona Hendricks - Sport Scientist and Strength and Conditioning Coach | Published: August 28, 2012

In the last article we focused on pre-adolescent sports people. Here we will focus on the early adolescent/early puberty phase where young people are experiencing considerable physiological changes which will therefore have implications for training. I still believe that in this phase it is vital for children to be playing as many sports as possible […]

Kinesiotape – Pink tape that makes you run faster?

By Tony Paladin - Biokineticist | Published: August 27, 2012

If you watch a sport event these days, one of the most visible sights is the “pink tape” that seems to hold many of the athletes together. Your kids probably think it is pretty cool that their favourite hero is wearing “pink tape”. But what is its really doing…..? Definitions Before I give my two […]

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