Performance anxiety, mistakes and low confidence are some of the top challenges for girls who play volleyball–challenges that help them learn important lessons in life, said Leah Jantzen, a former Ironman and marathon runner who is now a mental health and performance coach at Ward Melville High School, Long Island.
Jantzen, who coaches girls’ high school volleyball, was a recent guest on our Ultimate Sports Parent podcast, and provided tips for overcoming these mental game challenges and making the most of sports.
To help the girls with these issues, Jantzen stresses the importance of setting intentions instead of going through the motions of playing sports.
Related Articles on Youth Sports:
- Anxiety and Depression in Sports Kids
- How Exercise can Reduce Anxiety in Young Athletes
- Anxiety, Depression on Rise in Youth Sports
*Subscribe to The Sports Psychology Podcast on iTunes
*Subscribe to The Sports Psychology Podcast on Spotify
Help Your Young Athletes Improve Focus In Sports!
Are your young athletes easily distracted by people shouting on the sidelines? Do they obsess over their mistakes? Do they worry about what people think of them?
These issues will cause their concentration and performance to suffer!The Focused Sports Kid helps kids overcome distractions that can hurt their performance in sports.
The Focused Sports Kid program is actually two programs: one for sports parents/coaches that provides mental game tips especially designed for parents and coaches, and for young athletes, ages 8 to 12, that will walk them through 7 simple lessons in mental focus in sports.
