"It creates lot of anxiety, not good for their performance": Nick Saban sends message to 'helicopter parents' for undue pressure on kids

Former Alabama coach Nick Saban has gone through various facets of recruiting over his coaching career of almost 50 years. He has come across different parents from various fields who aspire to see their kids flourish in football.

Saban has a smart phrase to categorize them. He calls a section of them the "helicopter parents," who are mostly anxious about their kids and try to live their lives through their kids.

Overburdening them with expectations and trying to pressurize them for their self-interest happen to be some of the common traits that Saban flags in such parents. While speaking to Pure Athlete panelists on Friday, the veteran coach shared his thoughts on how he deals with such parents and what impact it has on their kids.

Saban claimed that one should play the sport only if one enjoys the game. Competition and beating opponents are just an aspect of it. However, the important factor is to nurture the love for the game to make it a career in the long run.

Saban reiterated his father's message that it is not about beating the opponent but becoming the best version of oneself via sports.

“I know these helicopter parents out there that are on top of their kids and pushing our kids to, I think, eventually you burn them out. I don't think that's the right approach,” Saban said (Timestamp: 34:00). “I think encouragement, being positive, trying to help your kids develop for their benefit, not necessarily your benefit, because it's really what they want them to play at the next level, because of them or because of their living their life through their kids? “And there's too much of that that I see happening out there, and I think it creates a lot of anxiety, which is not good for performance, takes the fun out of playing.”

Nick Saban runs a kids foundation in Tuscaloosa

Despite stepping down from his coaching career, Nick Saban has been focused on building his nonprofit organization that focuses on the development of kids, parents and teachers. The institution was established in 1998 to develop the sports culture and help the needy.

Over the last two decades, Saban and his family donated millions of dollars to build homes, offer scholarships and raise funds for the special kids in the community.

Right now, they are focused on building a $100 million facility for training the kids and teachers to step up their game. It will focus on personality training and academic leadership for the underprivileged who want to pursue a career after preliminary schooling.

Edited by Ribin Peter