Mentally Prepare to Compete Against Higher-Ranked Teams The main mental ingredient in upset victories is belief. By belief, we’re not just talking about pie-in-the-sky belief, but belief steeped in reality. The first step in understanding belief is to know the effect of a lack of belief. Young athletes who lack … Read Sport Psychology Tip
How Athletes’ Confidence is Fragile Athletes can feel confident in their ability to successfully perform in some circumstances and not others. For example, a basketball player may feel more confident when shooting free throws early in a basketball game than when on the foul line in the fourth quarter of … Read Sport Psychology Tip
What Does “Setting the Standard” Mean in Youth Sports? Setting a high standard refers to establishing a level of quality, expectation or performance. Some teams set winning as the standard. Often, teams with a high expectation of winning adopt the credo, “Championship or Bust.” While winning may be the goal, … Read Sport Psychology Tip
Kids Confidence is Directly Impacted by Their Mistakes All athletes make mistakes. But how kids respond to mistakes is critical. For example, if a player misses the last shot of a basketball game, will that athlete pass up shots late in future games? If a young athlete drops a pass … Read Sport Psychology Tip
What Skills Help Youth Athletes with Toxic Team Environments? When coaches are negative or condescending toward their players or when parents argue with refs, youth sports can feel toxic to young athletes. That can lead to anxiety, depression and fear of failure. This behavior from coaches can undermine athletes’ self-esteem … Read Sport Psychology Tip
Benefits Of Having Fun During Practices and Games Creating fun for kids is an important focus for Kevin Hoover, CEO of Rally Day Camps and an owner of youth baseball and softball camps for major league baseball teams like the San Francisco Giants and San Diego Padres. “Fun and safety … Read Sport Psychology Tip