Improve Confidence and Success in Young Athletes
The biggest challenges sports kids face are fear of failure and perfectionism. When they’re afraid of failing, they play it safe. They play to avoid making mistakes. That often makes them stiff and nervous—not an ideal mental game state. Instead, young athletes need to take risks and go … [Read more...]
Two of the top challenges for sports parents and their kids are tough ones. But we have the solution for each... First, sports parents have a hard time with perfectionists. These are kids who work hard and often excel. But what trips them up is their super-high expectations. They often set … [Read more...]
What is the Number One way young athletes sabotage their confidence, hurt their performance, and get in their own way? Young athletes really hurt themselves when they're perfectionists in sports. It might help in school, but we know it sabotages their sports performance... The irony is this: … [Read more...]
Sports mom Jennifer says her 11-year-old baseball player hates making mistakes, doesn’t want to disappoint people, and likes to stay in his comfort zone. His coaches have only kind words for the boy and don’t seem to recognize his challenges. Why? Because he’s a classic perfectionist who … [Read more...]
What are the top challenges for the sports kids we deal with and how can you help these kids? Our survey of parents and coaches showed that more than 40% of athletes struggle to some extent with perfectionism and fear of failure. Perfectionism and fear of failure cause young athletes to be their … [Read more...]
Jennifer sought our help with some tough challenges about her son, who just started playing tackle football: He lacks confidence because he’s the smallest on the team. He doesn’t respond appropriately to criticism. His confidence sinks when he feels as if he’s not playing … [Read more...]
Just how frustrating is it for parents when a child isn’t having fun in sports because he’s a perfectionist? A reader tells us: “Practically all of the emails I have received from you (about perfectionism) could have been written about my son...." "He is afraid of failure and afraid to … [Read more...]
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 … [Read more...]
