Alex Compton tackles healthy sports parenting in insightful talk

Sports

SPORTS can help children develop confidence, resilience, discipline, and leadership. But this can be achieved if children get proper guidance from their parents.

Alex Compton, a former professional basketball player and coach turned author and motivational speaker, pointed this out when he delivered an inspiring talk over the weekend at the Pope Francis Hall of Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu (SHS-AdC) in Barangay Canduman, Mandaue City.

Spearheaded by the SHS-AdC Alumni Association headed by Afshin Ghassemi, the fruitful discussion centered on Compton’s book, "Guiding Your Child’s Athletic Journey."

"We released a book March 16th last year, it's about helping parents and helping kids. It's always in my heart because my major in college is human development in family studies. Having kids and going through it, it became a passion project for me," said Compton.

Among those who attended the event was Compton’s former Alaska Aces teammate Dondon Hontiveros and his close friend Joel Co, an official of the alumni.

In his talk, Compton emphasized the importance of values-based parenting in nurturing young athletes, highlighting the parents' crucial role in molding their children not only as better athletes but also stronger individuals.

“There’s a lot of pressure and sometimes false expectations in sports. Many parents are well-intentioned but don’t always know the best practices,” said the former Manila Metrostars gunner.

The book that Compton co-authored with his friend Kevin Dalafu would help parents to properly guide their children in sports.

"We thought if we can write a book to help parents navigate all these sports things that impact our kids' lives so much, then maybe we can help prompt intentionality and maybe in the long run really deepen and strengthen family relationships which is the core of everything we do," Compton added.

The book was produced at a time when there is not enough materials to guide parents of student-athletes, he said.

"I think there's not a ton of material out there for us as parents on how to guide our child through sports. There is a lot of pressure in sports and false expectations in sports with a lot of well-intentioned parents that don't know the best practices and sometimes some stuff are very practical that we don't know and sometimes stuff might be a little deeper, but there's no manual for that," said Compton.

For his part, Ghassemi said bringing in Compton to talk about sports parenting was a big boost for the Sacred Heart community.

“It’s very refreshing to hear from him, especially that he espouses process over results. He emphasizes focusing on what can be controlled and what cannot be controlled,” Ghassemi said.

Ghassemi agreed with what Compton discussed in which he highlighted the role of parents in ensuring that student-athletes must excel in their chosen sport without compromising their studies.

“Our student-athletes already face a lot of pressure—not only the expectation to win, since we have nine championships, but also academically,” Ghassemi said.(CCM)