How Athletes Can Use Mental Imagery To Help Them Succeed
Too often, when young athletes prepare to compete or perform, they imagine in their minds the bad things that might happen to them—like getting beat out by a competitor or missing a critical shot. What they need to do instead is visualize success, says Steven Balzac, a psychology professor and former nationally ranked fencer. “What you imagine is what you get,” says Balzac. “If we imagine success, we prepare ourselves for success because that’s... [Read More...]
How Young Athletes Become Frustrated – A Model for Parents and Coaches
How Young Athletes Become Frustrated Watch Video 2 in this series: How to Help Kids Improve Composure Watch Video 3 in this series: Helping Athletes Cope with Mistakes Read More →
When Kids’ Self-Esteem Suffers After They Lose
Colton, a motocross racer, has lots of confidence. But he hates to lose. He hates to lose so much that it takes up to a day to recover after a losing, he says. Here at the Ultimate Sports Parent and Kids’ Sports Psychology, we think it’s okay to be competitive, like Colton. It motivates kids to work hard in practice and game situations. But when they’re so focused on winning that it takes them up to a day to recover from a loss, they likely... [Read More...]
Why This Soccer Coach Undermines Kids’ Confidence
If you want to know what NOT to do as sports parents and coaches, read on. We received this letter from a parent and former coach of a soccer player in the 10-12 –year-old age group. “My child’s coach has three assistant coaches and a lot of first- year players on the team. After suffering a five-point loss, one of the assistant coaches after the game felt it necessary to degrade the team’s loss and tell the team everything that they did... [Read More...]
Should Sports Parents be Their Kids’ Trainer, Nutritionist and Sports Psychologist?
Mari, a sports mom to two successful kayakers, aged 13 and 14, says she’s her kids’ sports psychologist, personal trainer, nutritionist and much more. She contacted us to ask: Is she too over-involved in her kids’ sports life? After speaking with Mari, we concluded that the answer is no. But very few sports parents can pull off what Mari does. Why? It’s really challenging for sports parents to spend so much time involved in their kids’ sports... [Read More...]
