Backing kids in sport, with mindset coach Dave Mackay

Backing kids in sport, with mindset coach Dave Mackay

From Parents We've Met by rova | Parenting Place New Zealand

February 9, 2026 · 34 min · Season 3 · Episode 9

About this episode

Dave Mackay discusses how parents can support their children in sports while navigating challenges and fostering enjoyment.

Dave Mackay is the founder of Sideline Advisor, a counselling and mentoring service for young athletes. In this episode he chats with Dayna and Jenny about how parents can help kids to thrive in, and enjoy sports, navigate performance-related anxiety and achieve long-term success in their chosen sports. Dave shares why effort matters more than outcomes, why he doesn’t believe in ‘player of the day’ - and why parents should ‘let the coach be the coach’. He also tackles some of your burning questions like: What happens when kids are pushed too hard in sports? How can you create memories around sports that go beyond the loss or win? What should you do – and not do – on the sideline? What are the traits of young people who succeed in sports in the long term? What are some myths about high performance sport? Parents We’ve Met is brought to you by Parenting Place – a charity with a heart for New Zealand families. Explore our self-guided online courses and hundreds of free parenting articles and ideas ⁠HERE⁠. Find us on:⁠⁠ YouTube⁠⁠ / ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠ / ⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠ / ⁠⁠Tik Tok ⁠⁠/⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

People in this episode

Hosts: Dayna, Jenny

Guest: Dave Mackay

Topics covered

  • youth sports
  • parenting
  • performance anxiety
  • coaching
  • long-term success

Keywords

  • sports parenting
  • youth athletes
  • performance anxiety
  • coaching advice
  • sports success

Sponsors

Parenting Place

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Sideline Advisor

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