Communication is vital to any successful sport league, and critically so in shooting sports. In this post we want to communicate what league members and their parents can expect from us and in turn what we expect from league members and their parents.
Time Management
Being on time, and even a few minutes early is a societal expectation and a sign of respect for other participants in any given gathering. We understand that parents and their youth have lives of their own coordinate and deadlines to meet. You can hold NTS Youth to the same standard. It is our responsibility to arrive in a timely manner ahead of the start of classes so league members get the most out of the time they and their parents are investing. We expect the same timeliness from our members. And, realistically, this responsibility falls to the parents. To show our understanding that you, too, have a schedule to keep, we factor time into the curriculum for cleaning up the range before the end of the session. This allows parents to know when to pick up their you and be on their way.. This, too, is also how we and our members show our respect respect to the range manger and staff, expressing our appreciation for the use of the facilities.
Maturity
Emotional maturity is a requirement around any type of projectile weapon. This is why we only accept emotionally mature youth into the league. However, don't rule out your energetic youth. It is possible for a youth to be bounce of the walls at home, and be shockingly focused on an activity they are passionate about. Is your youth the timid type? Don't rule out your youth, even if they are afraid of their own shadow. You'd be surprised at the confidence they will gain in themselves by participating in a non-contact sport.
Parents have a huge role to play as supporters of their youth in any activity. Behaviors such as cheering for the whole league as well as your youth teaches them how to support their friends and future colleagues in a manner that encourages success. Supporting the team and your youth by expressing empathy and pride fairly to all teaches your youth how to accept others when life get hard and teaches them how to express empathy to others. It takes into consideration how your youth might feel if they were facing the same setback, allowing for emotional maturity to grown in your youth. Encouraging other teams whether they have lost against us or have triumphed over us, teaches youth the maturity of good sportsmanship and that while a competitive event requires winners and losers by the nature of the event, how we handle defeat and success has a life long critical baring on our maturity level.
At the same time, parents have wrecked havoc on youth league sports since before NTS was founded. Parents show their own emotional maturity level in how they respond to coaches with differing ideas on how a situation should be handled; outbursts at a set back of their youth or other team mates, and arguments with other parents. It is understandable to be disappointed at an out come, that's human nature. However negative behavior of any kind from a parent, with whom deescalation techniques have failed, will not be tolerated and said parent(s) will be escorted off the range premises - the parent, not their child. As trainers, NTS will handle the correcting of league members with deescalation, conversations about sympathy and encouraging empathy while encouraging the youth to stand up for what is right, speaking up when something is wrong, and standing their ground in self-defensive situations.
Classroom and Range Etiquette
It is difficult for anyone to learn when multiple voices are coming in at one time, especially when conflicting information is given. Both in the classroom and on the range it is important that league members are focused on what the instructor is saying. It is very natural for a parent to want to speak up from the back, whether to correct, reemphasize a point the instructor has made. Parents must resist doing so as it distracts the class, embarrasses the youth, and causes the message to be lost in the confusion. We encourage parents who wish to stay, to observe from the back of the classroom and off the range platform. We encourage parents to jot down questions and thoughts to bring up with the instructor(s) after the session. Our instructor Brian is very knowledgeable about techniques, laws, etc. Please give him the benefit of the doubt in the moment. We are humans and are not free from errors. We are open to hear your questions and thoughts that occurred to parents during the youth's training session - at the end, or in a later call, text, or email.
Personal Involvement
We are open to parent volunteers showing support for their youth and the league. We show our appreciation for the extra work parents are willing to put in on behalf of their youth, with a small token of our appreciation at the end of each level. Typically in the form of a certificate for a free class for the adult from one of our course offerings. Roles open for volunteers: Team Mom/Dad, Team Medic (band aid level care), Team Secretary.
Communication is vital to any successful sport league, and critically so in shooting sports.