One of the most decorated female water polo players in the world, Heather Petri (@PeteIsAGirl) is a PCA National Advisory Board Member. She earned a silver medal in the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games, a bronze medal in the 2004 Athens Olympic Games, a silver medal in the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games and most recently, earned a gold medal in the 2012 London Olympic Games.

In this video, Petri explains the roles parents can play in instilling life lessons through sports. In this case, the lesson was "always finish what you start." When Petri first started water polo she wasn’t sure she wanted to keep playing. She wouldn’t want to go to morning practices or jump into a cold pool, and she had other small reservations and setbacks as she began learning how to play. Sometimes she'd want to quit, but her parents insisted that she finish the season she'd committed to play.

After the season ended, her parents asked if she wanted to play again in the following year. Getting Petri to a place where she managed through the difficult times and fully enjoyed the good times led her to continue to play season after season. The option to stop playing was always there, after she finished what she started. If your child tells you they want to quit, consider taking the approach Petri's parents did to encourage participation.