The early stages of a match are a little intimidating. The desire to make a great first impression and be a good mentor to your Little may seem a bit daunting. What you might not know though is that the beginning stages can be some of the more rewarding moments you have together. You learn how to communicate and trust each other as you build the foundation of your friendship.

To help ease the nerves, we reached out to Bigs to get their first-hand advice on how to combat struggles of navigating the early stages of a match. Let us know what you think, and other Bigs feel free to add your own tips in the comment section below. Enjoy!

1. BB Mike and LB Azul

“Simply be yourself. Youth better than anyone can distinguish between what’s real and fake. Authenticity goes a long way. Speaking of going a long way, remember building a relationship takes time. This is merely the first step down a longer journey of what will be many other epic moments.”
Read more about Mike here. 

2. BB Michael and LB Alfonzo

“Realize early on that it’ll be a mix of exposing them to new/fun things and going with the flow of learning about their existing interests. Both will be a lot of fun, and both will take some work. But it’ll be worth it!”

3. BB Ryan and LB Donald

“Be yourself, be patient, and don’t be preachy. Your Little is just as nervous as you are about meeting someone new and connecting. If all else fails: make a corny “dad” joke.”

4. BS Alex and LS Anisah

“It’s hard to not feel down when you can’t see the bigger picture every time you hang out. You may feel like all of this time and effort isn’t actually making a difference to her/him. My advice is to give it some time. It actually blew my mind when I heard from my Little’s mom how she was bragging about me to her friends at school and how we do all of these fun things that other kids don’t get to do. She felt special for once in her life- and that was something I was able to provide! If I hadn’t trusted the process, I would have thought she didn’t care!”

5. BB Joe and LB Alex

“Just relax, know you’re doing a great thing for a kid in need, and put yourself in his or her shoes… They will probably be nervous, so keep it simple, fun, and ask them a bunch of questions about themselves. They’ll like the fact that you are so interested in learning about what makes them tic!”

6. BB Jeff and LB Orfan

“Be the person you want him/her to become. Start by showing up on time, every time.”

7. BB Dan and LB Cameron

“Bring your little in on the planning process. The first time we hung out we went to Wendy’s, sat down and brainstormed what we wanted to do when we hung out. It started out with places to go for French Fries and some things I thoughtwould be fun and then he started telling me things he wanted to do like the Museum of Science, a particular playground, etc. We put them all on note cards (even the goofy or impossible ones) and refer back. If nothing else, it established a team mentality from the beginning and shows you want to listen”.