Mr. Donavan
For years I have enjoyed driving through the parking lot on my way to the office and looking at the open field north of Saint Michael’s Episcopal Church and seeing Mr. Donavan working with young children. My youngest two children Annie and John were both fortunate to work with Mr. Donavan when they were preschoolers, and now they, at ages 10 and 12, each love sports, John football and Annie soccer.
Donavan has taught young parents in the Dallas area the importance of taking a multi-sensory approach to learning sports. Helping children to use their visual, auditory, and physical systems while learning sports skills provides the brain the appropriate training it needs to hardwire foundational physical abilities. Donavan reminds us that if we focus only on sports performance without developing a love for physical activity and healthy competition, then children quickly cave under the pressure of overeager parents.
I have watched many parents, including myself, at children’s sporting events become overly emotional, angry, frustrated; we’re overly exuberant. As parents, we have to remind selves that when we are dysregulated, our children are dysregulated. Encouraging, cheering, and supporting our children while they compete in sports is healthy, as it revs up their central nervous system in a way that is motivating and activating. However, when we overdo it and emotions run too hot, we see children become aggressive, tearful, and begin to withdraw into fight, flight, or freeze. Sports in early childhood should be about enjoyment, sportsmanship, skills building, and healthy competition. Donavan encourages parents to meet their children where they are at and to give their children the freedom to explore a variety of sports that may interest them while developing their interpersonal relationships.
I am off to Annie‘s soccer game where they are in the semifinal game of the soccer tournaments; I’ll let you know how I do managing my emotions :)).