Concentration in Youth Sports When young athletes struggle with distractions, it can hurt their performance. When they can’t reach a state of flow, they make more mental errors. Kids lose concentration a lot and it's part of playing sports. They often think too much about things such as their stats, needing to score, or worrying about what others think, and thus they are not performing in … [Read more...] about Help Young Athletes Get into a Flow State
Athletes Who Get Nervous During Tryouts
How to Handle the Pressure of Tryouts Trying out for a new team will rattle the nerves of many young athletes. They may make constant comparisons to other players or try to play perfectly to impress the coaches. The mental game and mindset is super important for having a successful tryout… Your young athletes may arrive at the tryout and feel the pressure to perform better than the other … [Read more...] about Athletes Who Get Nervous During Tryouts
Tips for Helping Sports Kids Focus on What’s Important
Finding Flow in Sports Brooks Elms, a youth sports coach and former Division 3 player for NYU, says that as a young athlete, he was very anxious and too focused on winning. He brings that background to his coaching, helping kids cope with butterflies and focus on what’s most important. In a recent interview, he described being a sports kid whose identity was wrapped up in being … [Read more...] about Tips for Helping Sports Kids Focus on What’s Important
What to Do or Say After Your Athletes Compete?
What to Say on the Car Ride Home After the Game This week, we are following up on a video we shared last week about "The Car Ride Home". We provide tips on how parents can help kids feel confident after the game… Sports parents often unwittingly make the mistake of hurting their kids confidence after a game or competition. This often happens during the car ride home, or even before kids … [Read more...] about What to Do or Say After Your Athletes Compete?
The Importance of Playfulness and Trust in Youth Sports
How to Handle Pressure In youth sports, it’s important for your young athletes to trust their intuition and focus on play. In an interview with Mohammed Almarzouq, 27, from Saudi Arabia, a multi-year American Ninja Warrior competitor and coach at Skyhook Ninja Fitness, we discussed how having a playful attitude helped him compete. “The first time I was on American Ninja Warrior, it was the … [Read more...] about The Importance of Playfulness and Trust in Youth Sports
Are Parents Too Soft on Sports Kids?
A viral video, “The Ride Home,” by True Sport Pur, generated many interesting comments from college and professional athletes. The video shows--on the car ride home--a dad scolding his child for not working hard enough, and the young boy doesn’t respond, but looks very sad. The caption to the video from True Sport Pur: “Seventy percent of kids quit sports before high school. How we talk to … [Read more...] about Are Parents Too Soft on Sports Kids?
Athletes Who Do Well in Practice, But Struggle During Games
Kids Who Fail to Perform Well in Competition A sports grandparent says, “I have a 10-year-old grandson who plays little league baseball. When he started playing at 8 years old he was very aggressive and very good at making contact with the baseball. The last two years his confidence has decreased…stepping out of the batter’s box instead of stepping toward the pitcher. At home and in … [Read more...] about Athletes Who Do Well in Practice, But Struggle During Games
What Do Parents of Successful Athletes Do Right?
How to be a Successful Sports Parent A parent asks us how parents of successful athletes have been involved in their athletes’ sports experience. The most well-known example is Tiger Woods’ father. Earl Woods started teaching Tiger how to play golf before the age of two years old and coached him exclusively until the age of five, then hired a PGA club professional to help with Tiger’s … [Read more...] about What Do Parents of Successful Athletes Do Right?
How Young Athlete Build Ultimate Self-Confidence
Athletes who Lose Confidence with Constructive Criticism "I'm a female soccer player. I'm often challenged mentally when playing and this usually happens at training sessions, my teammate would tell me how I can't do a certain thing eg. Properly marking my opponent." "I end up questioning my ability to do so, therefore affecting my performance poorly. How can I overcome this?" For your … [Read more...] about How Young Athlete Build Ultimate Self-Confidence
Using Sports Psychology to Overcome a Cold Streak
“How to Win Wimbledon in Pajamas” Mary Nhin’s son, Kobe, began competing in tennis a couple of years ago and was winning most of his games… until he hit a cold streak. “He began going into super tiebreakers, a very short determining point system, and he would get very nervous, and he would end up losing,” says Nhin, the co-author, along with Kobe, of “How to Win the Wimbledon in … [Read more...] about Using Sports Psychology to Overcome a Cold Streak