Being a successful athlete requires hard work, diligence, and patience. Being successful as the parent of an athlete also requires diligence, discipline, and patience — and can often times feel more difficult than being the actual athlete him or herself.

Here are four signs of an ideal sports parent:

#1 – Cheer, Support, Repeat . . . Cheer for everybody on the team, not just your child. Attend as many games as possible. Be supportive, but let your daughter find her own solutions. Feel not the need to come to her rescue at every challenge or crisis.

#2 – Model Appropriate Behavior . . . With apologies to the old saying, children do as you do, not as you say. When a parent projects poise, control, and confidence, the young athlete is likely to do the same. When a parent chooses not to dwell on a tough loss, the young athlete will be enormously appreciative.

#3 – Communicate Correctly with the Coach . . . Know what is or is not suitable to discuss with the coach. Asking advice on how to help your child improve is 100% appropriate to discuss with a coach. Your child’s behavior, her strengths, and her role are also perfectly acceptable. Playing time in and of itself, team strategy, and other players on the team are off-limit topics, however.

#4 – Listen and Encourage . . . Be a good listener and a great encourager. When your child is ready to talk about a game or has a question about the sport, be all ears and listen. Be positive, be supportive, be helpful, but also encourage the athlete to speak up for herself. The child needs to learn to find answers (aka self-sufficiency).

Parents, you will have an extraordinary impact on your child. Positivity begets positive results. Stay positive!