How Athletes’ Confidence is Fragile Athletes can feel confident in their ability to successfully perform in some circumstances and not others. For example, a basketball player may feel more confident when shooting free throws early in a basketball game than when on the foul line in the fourth quarter of … Read Sport Psychology Tip
What Does “Setting the Standard” Mean in Youth Sports? Setting a high standard refers to establishing a level of quality, expectation or performance. Some teams set winning as the standard. Often, teams with a high expectation of winning adopt the credo, “Championship or Bust.” While winning may be the goal, … Read Sport Psychology Tip
Kids get emotional in street hockey. They might throw their hockey sticks because they missed a shot, for example. Coaches with the Charlotte Street Hockey League deal with such behavior by inviting kids to express their feelings, and then trying to help them find more appropriate ways to communicate. The … Read Sport Psychology Tip
As co-founder and executive director of L.E.A.D. Center for Youth in Atlanta, Kelli Stewart uses sports as a way to help kids learn skills that give them a leg up in life… And that effort is succeeding, she said during a recent interview with our Ultimate Sports Parent podcast. The … Read Sport Psychology Tip
Kids Confidence is Directly Impacted by Their Mistakes All athletes make mistakes. But how kids respond to mistakes is critical. For example, if a player misses the last shot of a basketball game, will that athlete pass up shots late in future games? If a young athlete drops a pass … Read Sport Psychology Tip
What Skills Help Youth Athletes with Toxic Environments? When coaches are negative or condescending toward their players or when parents argue with refs, youth sports can feel toxic to young athletes. That can lead to anxiety, depression and fear of failure. This behavior from coaches can undermine athletes’ self-esteem and … Read Sport Psychology Tip