motivation in youth sports

Motivates Kids to Play Sports and Stay Active

Motivation for Young Athletes

Give Sports Kids Tanglible Goals For Cami Hawkins, CEO of Marathon Kids, an organization that provides resources for schools to start running clubs, motivating kids is all about setting small goals and celebrating success. In an Ultimate Sports Parent podcast interview, Hawkins described how the organization’s coaches set goals that … Read Sport Psychology Tip

Are Your Athletes Self-Motivated or Driven by Parents?

Self Motivated Young Athletes

How to Help Sports Kids Be Self-Motivated A sports parent asks: “How can I help my son learn how to be self-motivated so that he can improve his tennis game?” Dan Coyle, the author of “The Talent Code,” argues that you have to help your children by cultivating their passion. … Read Sport Psychology Tip

What to Do When Sports Kids Want to Quit

How to Help Sports Kids Feel Less Pressure

How to Help Sports Kids Feel Less Pressure What should you do if your young athlete wants to quit sports? Seventy-five percent of young athletes quit sports by the age of 16. The reasons vary, but most often, the child is no longer having fun. As sports parents, what can … Read Sport Psychology Tip

When Parents Force Kids to Specialize in One Sport

When Kids Are Forced to Complete in One Sport

Young Athletes’ Motivation For Playing Sports A young athlete writes: “My father made me start taekwondo when I was still very young. I am tired of the injuries and with the fact that they don’t care if I am hurt or not. I still like the sport but I am … Read Sport Psychology Tip

How to Tap into Your Athletes’ Personal Motives for Sports Participation

Motivating Sports Kids

Motivating Young Athletes Without Pressuring Them In our survey of more than 3,000 sports parents, the top challenge cited by parents of young athletes is this: How can I help my kids get the most of out sports without pressuring them? In the survey, 68.7 percent of respondents named this … Read Sport Psychology Tip

New Study Identifies Four Keys to Happy Athletes

Youth Sports Psychology

Sports Kids’ Keys to Happiness Nearly 70% of kids drop out of sports by the time they’re 13. That statistic isn’t new, but what is new is research that identifies what would keep them in sports. A new study conducted by George Washington University’s School of Public Health found that … Read Sport Psychology Tip