Youth Sports Psychology Blog at The Ultimate Sports Parent

Recent Youth Sports Psychology Articles

Getting Kids’ Heads Back in The Game After Distractions

Jim, a 12-year-old basketball player, often seems to wander aimlessly around on the court after making a few mistakes, his mom tells us. “I always know what’s going to happen after a few minutes of the game,” she says. “If he does well right away, he plays well for the rest of … [Read More...]

NEW! The Focused Sports Kid - CD and Workbook Program

Help Kids Focus and Succeed–The Focused Sports Kid

How often do coaches or parents say to their sports kids, “You need to focus! Get your head in the game!” All the time! The truth is, most sports kids get distracted. And when you hear the refrain, “Focus! Get your head in the game,” it’s because your sports kids aren’t … [Read More...]

Help Sports Kid Improve Concentration & Cope with Distractions

"The Focused Sports Kid" helps sports kids who get easily distracted and can't regain their focus in competition. In this program, you and your athlete learn concentration-boosting strategies to help young athletes develop laser focus during competition. Young athletes learn how to focus … [Read More...]

Video: 4 Steps to Helping Young Athletes Improve Focus

In our last tip, we shared a video with you on the top distractions young athletes face in sports. Today, we have a follow up video—again produced by Dr. Cohn: “Four Steps to Helping Young Athletes Improve Focus" This short video describes the critical steps to helping your … [Read More...]

Top Performance-Busting Distractions For Young Athletes

Concentration is key to excelling in sports. When kids aren’t focused on what they need to do to perform their skills, performance suffers. Then your athletes are unable to perform in the “zone.” Not coping effectively with distractions can really hurt your athletes’ performance … [Read More...]

Giving Hot-Headed Sports Parents A Break

It’s true sports parents too often get hot under the collar and yell at coaches, refs and even their sports kids during games. But critics need to show these parents some empathy and give them a break. That’s the word from Nancy Peter, director of the out-of-school time resource … [Read More...]

One Sports Mom’s Success Story: Dealing with a Bully Coach

Sports parents often feel torn about how to deal with difficult or bully coaches. Parents worry that if they approach coaches about their behavior, the coaches will give their kids less playing time, bench them, or favor other players. But parents need to overcome these fears and step … [Read More...]

Should Parents Try to Reason with Bully Coaches?

Should parents try to reason with bully coaches? Should they try to talk to athletes who bully their kids in sports? Should they move their kids to different schools as a result of bullying in sports? These are just some of the many questions we get about bullying in youth … [Read More...]