What Hurts Young Athletes’ Confidence in Sports?
We believe that confidence is the most important asset that leads athletes to sporting excellence. It’s critical for your kids to feel confident—to believe in their abilities—in order to realize their physical potential. Confidence helps them bounce back after mistakes, hang in there when things get tough, transfer the skills they learn in practice to competition, and much more! “You still have to have confidence. If you don’t have... [Read More...]
One Must-Have Mental Game Strategy to Help Young Athletes Excel in Competition
A sports parent tells us her son really shines on the field during practice. “He’s way beyond all the other boys in terms of technical and tactical skills during practice.” However, here’s the “But.” And it’s a big one. During a game, she says, you wouldn’t know her son excels in practice. Does this sound familiar? Do your sports kids have trouble transferring skills from practice to games? Read on to... [Read More...]
How Parents’ Expectations Hurt Athletes’ Confidence
Youth coach Doug Donaldson says he knows intuitively when one of his young athletes feels pressured by a parent’s expectations. And he also knows the problems such well-meaning expectations can create in young athletes. For example, one of his player’s mothers wants the child to play goalie in Lacrosse. But when the mother isn’t listening, the boy says he wants to play defense. “It’s a real quandary for him. He’s looking for Mom and worrying... [Read More...]
How To Give Constructive Feedback to Sports Kids
It’s no secret that many young athletes aren’t very open to constructive feedback during games. That’s because they often take it personally. They think that what you say about their performance as athletes reflects on them as people. What does this mean for you as parents and coaches? It’s your job to make sure you give kids constructive criticism in ways that allow them to learn and grow from it. If, for example. you’re a coach and you... [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...]
