Why do girls drop out of sports more often than boys? Nancy Lough, a professor at the University of Nevada Las Vegas, says that girls drop out for numerous reasons--and some are related to gender stereotypes. “If you think about it from a social standpoint, there are a lot of messages for girls: ‘This isn’t the place for you,’” she says. Girls are told they should be pretty not powerful. … [Read more...] about Why Girls Drop out of Sports More Often than Boys
The Role of Mental Game Skills for Sports Kids
Volleyball is 90 Percent Mental: These Skills Can Help What helps young athletes remain mentally tough after a hard loss in volleyball? What helps them bounce back after difficult circumstances? How can kids turn losses into wins? Many volleyball players would say hard work is the key here. Of course, the ability to work harder than opponents, push teammates to their limits and out-hustle … [Read more...] about The Role of Mental Game Skills for Sports Kids
How Athletes Can Move on after a Bad Game or Failure
How Athletes Can Hit the Reset Button Athletes often ask, “I’m afraid my last bad game will be followed by other bad performances. How do I avoid following into a slump after a bad game?” It’s often hard for athletes to get over tough performances. They think a bad game will lead to more. These athletes often see themselves as lacking ability, not being good enough, or feeling they can’t … [Read more...] about How Athletes Can Move on after a Bad Game or Failure
The Ultimate Sports Parent
Every day, we receive letters from parents like you who want their children and teens to excel in sports. However, these parents can see fear, doubt, and frustration on the faces of their kids who struggle with the “inner” game of sports. But these parents have no idea how to help their kids overcome the worries, expectations and self-defeating thoughts that prevent their young athletes from … [Read more...] about The Ultimate Sports Parent
Helping Young Athletes Kick Perfectionism and Fear of Failure
Nearly every athlete struggles with some form of perfectionism or fear of failure. Kids who look like stars in practice will often choke up or under perform during games or competition. Other athletes expect too much of themselves—then get frustrated when they don’t meet their high expectations. Or they’re extremely hard on themselves. In all cases, this causes young athletes to play it … [Read more...] about Helping Young Athletes Kick Perfectionism and Fear of Failure
Anxiety, Depression on Rise in Youth Sports
How Young Athletes can Cope with Stress The pressures of modern youth sports are creating stress related mental health issues in young athletes. But there’s a non-traditional way of addressing this stress. That’s what we learned during a podcast interview with Bradley Donohue, a psychology professor at University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV), and director of The Optimum Performance Program in … [Read more...] about Anxiety, Depression on Rise in Youth Sports
Why Adults Shouldn’t Heap Superstar Expectations on Sports Kids
Do Parents Pressure Kids to be Superstars? In the world of youth sports, we focus too much on “the next big thing”, creating high expectations. Eighth grade basketball player Elijah Fisher has been described by his coach at Grassroots Elite (Canada), “Elijah could be the best player to ever come out of Canada.” Some have said of high school junior quarterback Eli Brickhandler, “He’s the … [Read more...] about Why Adults Shouldn’t Heap Superstar Expectations on Sports Kids
Challenges for Athletes in the Age of Social Media
What is Social Media Doing to Athletes Today? Tricia Roos, Bishop Lynch High School’s head women’s volleyball coach, says that social media has changed how the members of her team focus and talk to each other. “For example, we were at the state competition a couple of years ago. The teens were at dinner, all looking down at their phones. I said, ‘Put your phones down.. You are all here … [Read more...] about Challenges for Athletes in the Age of Social Media
Help Your Athletes Benefit From Criticism by Coaches
How Athletes Can Deal with Coach Criticism It can be hard for your young athletes to take criticism productively from coaches. Kids often don’t interpret communication from coaches correctly because of the delivery or the emotion with which the feedback is conveyed. When their coaches criticize young athletes, the kids may focus on only the negative part of the message, or miss the message … [Read more...] about Help Your Athletes Benefit From Criticism by Coaches
When Young Athletes Doubt Their Skills When Criticized
How to Strengthen Young Athletes’ Confidence Do your young athletes start to doubt themselves and lose confidence when they are criticized or given feedback in sports? One soccer player puts it this way: “I’m often challenged mentally during practice if a teammate tells me how I can’t do a certain thing, such as properly marking my opponent. I end up questioning my ability to do so, … [Read more...] about When Young Athletes Doubt Their Skills When Criticized