The Coaches' Room
GeneralMultiple / GeneralParents

Parents asking 'how many did you score?' after every game

Asked by Paul_12
0 views 4 replies
I keep hearing parents greet the kids with 'did you score?' or 'how many did you get?' before anything else. Nobody means harm, but I wonder what message that gives the children who do loads for the team and rarely score. Has anyone changed the questions parents ask after U8 games?

VERIFIED COACH ANSWER

VERIFIED COACH RESPONSE

UEFA C Coach

U7–U11 confidence, parents and behaviour

Why don't we show coach names?
I would definitely broaden the questions. There is nothing wrong with a child being proud of scoring, but if the first adult question is always “did you score?”, it quietly tells them which part of football gets valued most. Parents could ask things like: “What did you enjoy?”, “What was difficult?”, “What did you try today?” or even just “Did you have a good game?” That gives defenders, goalkeepers and quieter players something meaningful to talk about too. I would not send parents a list of approved questions. A short explanation from the coach about what the group is trying to develop is usually enough. Children quickly learn what gets adult attention. If we want them to value bravery, teamwork and problem-solving, those things have to appear in our conversations as well.

COMMUNITY DISCUSSION

Join the football discussion. 4 replies

H

HW23

Community Member

My lad rarely scores and definitely noticed that goals were the first thing adults asked about. He talks far more if I ask what was hard or funny.
E

Ellie_70

Community Member

The striker probably already knows how many they scored. Ask about something that tells you whether they actually played football.
H

HW23

Community Member

As a parent I caught myself doing this all the time. Changed it to 'what did you enjoy?' and got much better conversations than a yes/no answer about scoring.
F

FridayFeeling7

Community Member

Same. The funny thing is once I stopped leading with goals, he often brought them up himself anyway, just as one part of the game.