Let Them Play: The Mindful Way to Parent Kids for Fun and Success in Sports

by Jerry Lynch, Steve Kerr (Foreword)

American youth sports are in Parents are fighting with referees, coaches, their kids, and one another. Micromanaged kids are losing their passion to play. In Let Them Play , sports psychologist and team consultant Dr. Jerry Lynch provides an antidote to parental overinvolvement. Combining psychological insight with spiritual principles from Taoism and Buddhism, Lynch lays out core principles to help parents achieve equanimity and provide healthy direction for their kids. He gives parents strategies and tools taken from his work with national champions to help kids to perform at higher levels, become better team players, and most important, have more fun. Filled with easy-to-implement advice, Let Them Play will empower your athletic child to be mentally strong for sports and life.

Genres: Nonfiction, Sports, Parenting

200 pages, Paperback

Published September 6, 2016

Reviews

[Travis · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a little tough for me to properly rate. I've already read and absorbed multiple versions of Tao Te Ching. I read The Daily Stoic: 366 Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living and have read its source materials like Meditations. My Goodreads is rife with books by Thich Nhat Hanh and other Taoist and Buddhist authors. I've read other books for athletes and parents of athletes, like Clean Your Cleats: Advice on Baseball and Life for Ballplayers and The 5-6-7 Dad. I even read one of the author's compatriots, John O'Sullivan's Changing the Game: The Parent's Guide to Raising Happy, High Performing Athletes, and Giving Youth Sports Back to our Kids. All of that to say I was already intimately familiar with all the concepts presented in Let Them Play.

If you aren't already versed in Taoism, Buddhism, Stoicism, and other philosophies, then this might be a very easy entry point for you. In that case, bump up my rating to four or even five stars.

I wish all parents of young athletes followed the principles laid out in this book. And many of the lessons are applicable outside of sports and for people of all ages. The mindfulness structure of the advice helps improve all walks of life.

Each chapter has a quote of some kind, whether from a writer, a thinker, Lao Tzu, or "Chinese wisdom." Some of these are a bit trite, but again I'm coming from a place of familiarity so they might be new and even more inspiring and evocative to you. I will be copying many of these quotes to my commonplace book to preserve them myself.

That said, the book feels a little stretched out. There's a lot of repetition of the same points across all the chapters. The final part of the book, the "Code of Conduct" for parents and coaches, restates everything in the prior three parts. This makes it feel like the entire thing could have been just the code of conduct. However, this is a common fact amount most non-fiction books, especially ones espousing advice and action items, so I don't hold it too much against this book. And it can be nice to have everything summed up as a conclusion.

I was nodding my head on every page of this book. I agree with all the principles and underlying philosophies. Lynch has an easy style to read. So whether mindfulness is new to you or you want a refresher, this book will help you see exactly how you can instill mindfulness into your child athlete and help them restore fun to their sport.

[Tristy at New World Library · Rating 5 out of 5]

Endorsements:
“Prepare the players and let them play — that’s our style.”
— from the foreword by Steve Kerr, head coach of the Golden State Warriors

“Having been a parent of athletic kids, I wish I had had a copy of this book to guide me through those challenging times with youth sports.”
— Phil Jackson, author and eleven-time NBA world champion coach

“Let Them Play will help you to inspire and empower your kids to have more joy, fun, and success not just in sports but in the bigger game of life.”
— Anson Dorrance, coach of the twenty-two-time NCAA champion women’s soccer team at University of North Carolina

“This book is my new blueprint for raising my own happy, healthy athletes, and it should be yours too.”
— John O’Sullivan, founder of the Changing the Game Project

[Brent Soderstrum · Rating 2 out of 5]

I won this book through GoodReads First Read program.

In this book Lynch looks to parental behavior in raising a child who participates in athletics. He uses Tsao and Buddhist saying and teachings to cover what can really be summed up in a few sentences yet he spends nearly 200 pages covering it. Be courteous and respectful to others including fans, parents, coaches, referees and your child. Let your kids have fun and enjoy the sport without parental pressure. There...saved you some money that you would have spent purchasing this book. It amazes me that there are books written on things that are really common sense.

[Lori · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a good article that tried to stretch to a whole book. Probably geared more towards an older athlete than I have, there were some interesting points. Some food for thought, I especially appreciated the tips on when your kid gets cut. (Think that might come in handy someday;) )

[Khary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book

I'd recommend this book for any parent of a young athlete or youth sports coach. I look forward to using the strategies.