For many families, beyond school photos and graduations not being there, the cancellation of sports is very impactful. As families and their kids are missing out on traditions around annual sports photos, here are some solutions to honor your little athletes and their traditions.
At the youth level, participating in sports is an outlet and how many get through stressful times. While there is an indefinite pause in practices, games, and tournaments, now is the time to take a step back and show your kids how proud you are of their accomplishments in sports. With the coronavirus pandemic putting a temporary stop to sports throughout the world, we found ways to keep the spirits high and honor your kids’ sports traditions.
Sports Photo Ideas
The excursion of sharing photos amid the COVID-19 outbreak is giving all sorts of communities a much-needed lift. Around this time, athletes participating in spring sports would have had their annual team pictures highlighted around the school. You can still honor your kids and these traditions by planning a photoshoot with them and giving them a lasting memory. Honoring your kids with a sports photoshoot will brighten your family, their coaches, and teammates’ day.
Have A Backyard Photoshoot
In lieu of actual professional team pictures, have your kids dress out for a mini photoshoot in the backyard, front porch, or any place in the comfort of your own home. Whether it’s baseball, softball, soccer, track and field, tennis, and more, have your kids wear their uniform and capture their love for their sport. Having a family photoshoot that put’s your kids and their accomplishments as the spotlight is a fun way to stay connected with the youth sports community. These photos will create a positive outlook for the community and inspire others to do the same. It’s about bringing back some joy into these times, and families will love the photos.
Make A Sports Themed Photo Book
A personalized photo book is a unique way to capture the big moments from previous seasons. Take your favorite action shots, team photos, and individual pictures and turn them into a beautifully printed book. Remember all your favorite moments on and off the field with a photo book to recap your athlete’s favorite seasons. With all the most precious memories from practice, scrimmages, and games in one place, your little all-star will be even more excited for the next time they get to play.
Send Thinking Of You Cards To Coaches And Teammates
If your kids miss their coaches and teammates, have them create and send personalized thinking of you cards to their sports team. Thinking of you cards are a great way to have your kids express their love for their sports community and include some regularity into their days. During these uncertain times, staying connected by sending thoughtful messages will make everybody feel like we are in this together. We’re all in our homes, separate, but going through the same. Keep sharing ideas further and make this world a better place wherever we can.
Importance Of Honoring Traditions
Traditions are an important part of the youth sports community, not just because they provide fun activities that bring friends and families together, but also they provide a sense of belonging. If the coronavirus pandemic has put a halt to your kids’ sports, for the time being, honoring traditions will give you and your kids a reason to have fun and gain an appreciation for the little things in life. Here are some reasons why it’s important to keep honoring your kids’ sports traditions during these uncertain times.
Staying In Touch
Honoring your kids’ sports traditions will help keep the team together. These interactions, like sending the coach and teammates a photo card or creating a photo book filled with previous sports seasons, create bonds that can be used to build a close community. Through these customs, members of the team become unified, which is what you and your kids need during these times. It will give your kids something to look forward to and provides memories that will be stronger and more meaningful.
An Outlet To Discuss Emotions
While your athlete may be used to playing sports as an outlet for their emotions, honoring these traditions can help process their feelings in these uncertain times. After taking these traditional sports photos, set aside time to talk as a family about how everyone is feeling and coping with the outbreak. It’s important to acknowledge how your kids are feeling about missing out on important events in their lives. Invite your child to offer ideas about how they can still honor certain milestones even while they’re social distancing.
Keeping Routines
Honoring traditions like annual sports photos or writing thank you cards to awesome coaches helps continue the routine of seasonality and rhythm your kids were used to. Now more than ever, focus on what you and your family can do for enjoyment or to support the community. Essentially, finding ways to modify a missed activity so it can be creatively executed at home will help foster resilience during times of adversity and uncertainty. Doing your traditional routines will help alleviate any stress and keep a positive outlook.
Final Thoughts
Whether you’ve got a grade-schooler in little league or a high-schooler in varsity track and field, there are simple ways to keep traditions going that will honor your kids’ milestones. Having a sports photoshoot in their uniforms, sending thinking of you cards to their team, or creating meaningful photo books and other sports gifts will help your kids stay connected and feel important.
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