12 Signs You Might Be Making Youth Sports About You.

12 Signs You Might Be Making Youth Sports About You. Let’s be honest: youth sports can become a lot—for all of us. One minute you’re signing up for a six-week soccer rec league, the next you’re spending your weekends with a folding chair, portable fan, and $9 coffee at a tournament three hours away… wondering how you got here.

 

You love your kid. You want them to thrive. But somewhere between the snack schedules and the recruiting emails, the line between supporting and absorbing their sports journey gets blurry.

So, if you’ve ever found yourself a little too emotionally invested, you’re not alone. But it might be time for a gut check.

 

1. You’ve cried more this season than your kid has.

Over the loss. The ref. The politics. The group text. You feel it all—harder than they do sometimes.

 

2. Your mood swings with their stat line.

If they played well, you’re on top of the world. If they didn’t—watch out. The whole household feels it.

 

3. You’ve “casually mentioned” their starting spot, club team, or offer in a conversation that had nothing to do with sports.

Grocery store. Dinner party. Dentist. You slipped it in. And you knew exactly what you were doing.

 

4. You call it a “family vacation” but it’s really just a tournament. You can’t remember the last time your family went somewhere not tied to a bracket.

 

5. You say things like, “We didn’t have a great game today.”

As if you were out there, sweating through double OT. 

 

6. You’ve Googled the kids your child is competing against.

Just to “see what you’re up against.” (Yes, we see you.)

 

7. You feel judged if your kid plays bad.

Like their performance somehow reflects your parenting. (It doesn’t.)

 

8. You need them to play well to feel okay.

Not just for their future, but also for your ego. That’s a hard one to admit—but an important one to recognize.

 

9. You post their wins—but not their losses.

If your social media only celebrates the victories, ask yourself: what message is your child getting about when they’re worth showing off?

 

10. You’re more upset about the coach’s decision than your kid is.

They moved on. You haven’t. You’re still replaying it in your head like it’s a crime scene.

 

11. You joke with your kid about needing a scholarship… but deep down, you kind of mean it. You’ve invested time, money, and weekends—but they don’t owe you ROI. They’re your child, not your retirement plan.

 

12. You forgot what you even enjoy about watching them play.

It’s all stress and pressure now. Somewhere along the way, the joy faded.

 

Awareness is powerful. Most of us are doing our best, loving hard, and trying to figure it out in real time. But if you’ve recognized yourself in more than a few of these—pause. Take a breath. Reconnect with your why.

Your kid doesn’t need a manager. They need a soft place to land. They need you to cheer for their effort, not just their outcomes. And most of all, they need to know they’re enough—no matter what the scoreboard says.

 

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For more support, tools, and honest conversations about youth sports parenting, visit ilovetowatchyouplay.com and follow us @theilovetowatchyouplay.