How Young Athletes Can Learn From Failure Losses and failure can sink sports kids’ confidence–but they don’t have to. For many football players, failure means throwing an interception in the red zone or fumbling the ball and allowing the opposing team to score. Missing a tackle for a big yardage … Read Sport Psychology Tip
When Self-Talk Isn’t Enough for Athletes Brad Donohue, a psychology professor and sports psychology expert at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) is conducting some eye-opening studies about how motivational phrases help athletes perform. In one of his studies, coaches or peers said a string of phrases to runners … Read Sport Psychology Tip
How Expectations Hinder Confidence Perfectionists tend to have more confidence in practice than they do in competition. They also harbor what’s called fragile confidence. Fragile confidence means that athletes’ confidence rises and falls depending on how they are performing at the moment. At its worst, fragile confidence can increase and … Read Sport Psychology Tip
Interview With Christian Lavers It’s natural for youth sports kids’ confidence to come and go, says Christian Lavers, President, Elite Clubs National League (ECNL), a youth sports competition and development organization. When kids’ confidence does wane, it’s generally in response to a bad game or performance, a losing season, a … Read Sport Psychology Tip
Help Young Athletes with Performance Young athletes can become overwhelmed by crowds during games or performances. Some kids feel anxious when the crowd claps; others feel energized. One figure skater recently responded to our mental game survey and talked about what it feels like to perform in front of spectators. … Read Sport Psychology Tip
Do Your Athletes Do Well in Poor Weather? When the weather outside is rainy, snowy, cold or windy, it can be difficult for young athletes to stay focused. For example, young tennis players often feel their mental game sink during hot temperatures, and they’re distracted early in the competition. Some … Read Sport Psychology Tip