Helping Young Athletes Improve Composure in Sports

Youth Sports Psychology expert Dr. Patrick Cohn of Kids’ Sports Psychology explains why athletes become frustrated during competition and what coaches and parents can do about it. Help young athletes identify frustration-producing thoughts and modify them so your young athletes can reap the many benefits of improved composed during competition.   Watch the first video in this series: How Young Athletes Become Frustrated in Sport: A... [Read More...]

The Problems with Favoritism in Youth Sports Athletes

Sports parent Michael Sands is unhappy with what he calls favoritism at Beverly Hills High, where his son plays football. The coaches are all volunteers, but on weekends, they coach certain kids—for a fee. This puts the young athletes who get extra coaching on weekends on a different playing field than those who don’t get the extra coaching, he says. They’re more likely to be favored by the coaches. This type of scenario is common in youth sports.... [Read More...]

One Way Sports Kids Lose Confidence and the Solution

Sophie is a 7th grade cross-country runner who has trouble letting go of past losses. She assumes one loss will lead to another. This is a common challenge for young athletes. They make generalizations about one bad game or race. If it happened once, they think, it will happen over and over. What’s the problem? If kids assume one loss will lead to another, their confidence is low when they begin the next game or race. That’s not good. It can... [Read More...]