Keeping Your Child Safe in Sport 2025 - Case Study 2

How do you see your role in your child’s volleyball journey?

• As a bankroller, manager, chaperone, advocate and supporter. Increasing less so as he gets older (except for the bank rolling!).

What does supporting your child in volleyball mean to you?

• To make sure he has access to good nutrition, sports psych, physio and recovery time.
• Injury management
• Attending events when I can. But making sure he is okay with that.
• To manage logistics & admin and help with decisions about tournaments and trainings. When he was younger I would attend tournaments and trainings just to see if he was okay, but not so much anymore.
• Also helping with networking- but less so now.
• Encourage a growth mindset

How do you talk to your child about their experiences in volleyball?

• I try not to focus on the outcome of a tournament. Rather than saying did you win? I say thinks like how did it go? Was it fun?
• Talking while driving is often a good time.
• If we are talking about training I will ask about what they were learning.
• I ask how he is feeling about certain situations- I try and make this specific.
• Though sometimes the answers are not very helpful. So if there is an important event or selection camp I will attend so I can understand what was going on.

What steps do you take to ensure your child feels safe and supported in volleyball?

• Keep an eye on moods before and after training/tournaments
• Listen
• A huge reliance on other parents, coaches and other adults in volleyball for sofas for him to sleep on while he is away and friendly faces at tournaments to support him. Often asking other parents and friends to keep an eye on him if I am not there.
• Discuss what is poor/unsafe behaviour so that he understands what is and isn’t acceptable on and off court. Especially given that he may observe a range of behaviours from others (parents and players) at tournaments.
• If there is any injury or a recovery from injury make sure I explain this to the coach and also make sure my child knows he can stop at anytime.
• Get to know the coaches and teammates, so you can decide if it’s a safe environment.

Any top tips you can share with other parents?

• Sometimes things go wrong and you cannot control everything. Don’t beat yourself up.
• Try and steer them to good role models (both on and off court)
• Check with you child if they find it off putting/uncomfortable you being at tournaments. Do they mind you shouting, is your commentary helpful? Is it annoying if you sit directly behind the court so you are in their eyeline.