Pregame Mistakes Kids Make
Just before a game, kids can derail their mental game by failing to trust in all that they’ve learned in practice.
Without trust in what they’ve learned, kids are more likely to play tentatively and to avoid making mistakes.
Instead, we want your young athletes to trust in all they’ve learned and play freely, with confidence!
Just before a game, kids should accept that they can’t be perfect. They can strive to be the best they can be, but should understand they’re only human.
If they enter a game with super high expectations, they’re likely to get frustrated easily. So they need to understand they can’t play “perfectly.” And that’s okay!
Just before a game, sports kids need to get in the performance mindset. That means they should not keep thinking about how to improve their game.
They need to focus on “playing ugly,” which means doing whatever they can to get the job done!
Young athletes will feel more confident, enjoy sports more and have more fun if they can go into a game with the right mental game!
Related Articles on Youth Sports:
- How Athletes Can Learn From Hank Aaron’s Mental Preparation
- Your Athletes’ Mental Preparation Prior to Competition
- How to Set Standards of Excellence for Young Athletes
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The Composed Sports Kid
“The Composed Sports Kid” audio and workbook digital download program for young athletes and their parents or coach helps kids cope with frustration and anger in sports. Help your sports kids learn how to manage expectations and let go of mistakes so they can keep their head in the game.
The Composed Sports Kid system is really two programs in one–one program to train parents and coaches how to help their kids practice composure, and one program that teaches young athletes–ages 6 to 13–how to improve composure, let go of mistakes quickly, have more self-acceptance, and thus enjoy sports more!