Do Sports Help Self-Esteem? A sports parent writes: “My 12-year-old has always had low-self confidence and low self-esteem. My hope was that a competitive sport (baseball for us) could help him develop these but so far results (four years into the mission) are negative to neutral at best. How do … Read Sport Psychology Tip
Pregame Mistakes Kids Make Just before a game, kids can derail their mental game by failing to trust in all that they’ve learned in practice. Without trust in what they’ve learned, kids are more likely to play tentatively and to avoid making mistakes. Instead, we want your young athletes to … Read Sport Psychology Tip
How to Handle Bullying in Youth Sports Parents, it’s easy to assume that bullying won’t strike your sports kids. Truth is, bullying is rampant in youth sports today. Kids bully each other and even coaches bully kids… Even parents bully each other! The weaker players are not always the targets. … Read Sport Psychology Tip
Applying The 3 R’s of Refocusing in Youth Sports It may sound silly, but sports kids can get really distracted by what they’re wearing and what their teammates and opponents are wearing. Take swimmers, for example. One middle school student tells us she gets really distracted by overweight guys in … Read Sport Psychology Tip
The Benefits of Mental Training For Young Athletes A sports parent tell us, “My 10-year-old tennis player has a tough time implementing mental tactics that he feels apply only to pros/adults.” This sports parent is not alone in his frustration. Often, young athletes buy into a number of myths that … Read Sport Psychology Tip
What’s The Problem With Perfectionism? Perfectionist sports kids show up to practice on time and work hard to improve their skills. Coaches like them because they follow directions. Sounds perfect, right? But there’s a problem with perfectionist sports kids—often, both in sports and life. Perfectionists set high expectations for themselves. … Read Sport Psychology Tip