1. Get their friends involved too
The biggest motivation for most young players is being able to play with their friends. You should organize an afternoon outdoors with four or five of their best friends from their team. Then let the friendship between them do the rest. They're sure to end up wanting to go back to their club.
2. Make some time to watch a top-level match with your kid
Ask them about what's happening and what might happen. You can even pretend that there's something you don't understand and ask your child what they would do if they were the coach in a certain situation. Your goal is to get your little footballer engaged in the game, which hopefully leads to them remembering why they love football so much. And if, at half time or full time, they ask you to go in goal for them while they take some pot shots in the garage or the garden, then you know you'll have achieved your goal.
3. Take them to your nearest Decathlon store
So you're in the car with your child and you suddenly feel the urge to go to your nearest Decathlon store and pick-up a moisture-wicking training top or a fishing accessory. Then, with no hidden agenda whatsoever, you go down the team sports aisle and linger a while in front of all the balls and the boots. Faced with the sight of them all, your child is sure to ask for the latest Kipsta ball or shirt. It's just another way of reacquainting them with a passion that's fallen by the wayside in the last few months.
4. A kickabout in the park
The best way to teach something is to show how it's done. And in this case that means heading to the local park with your child. But if you can't showcase your talent by recreating a Ronaldo bicycle-kick or running Messi-style with the ball at your feet, you can always ask your child to show you what they're capable of or what they learned at their last training sessions. Here's a little advice before you take them on in a penalty shootout or something: make sure you warm up first.
5. Remind them of the importance of playing sport
Young people are perfectly capable of assimilating information that you might think would be beyond them. A little chat that you've prepared in advance might just do the trick. It's up to you to decide which points you need to make to raise your child's awareness of the need to be active and play sport: "Playing sport is good for your physical development, your mind and your well-being." "It helps you pick up social and people skills different to the ones you learn at school." "It opens your mind." "Finish what you start." This is especially pertinent if your child wants to give up halfway through the season. And if they take your advice well, you can be sure they'll find their way, until you need to speak to them again.
