Kids in Sports Articles

Kids in sports articles and tips for sports parents, young athletes, and youth coaches to improve mental performance and overall consistency in sports.

Help Kids Improve Their Focus Before Competition

How Elite Teams Can Hurt Kids’ Confidence

Parents: Help Kids Boost Pregame Concentration Just before kids compete, they need to focus as much as possible on what’s happening right now, not on the past or future. They will do better if they can avoid focusing on common distractions–what others think of them, the score, the win, or … Read Sport Psychology Tip

Sports Parents: Do Your Kids Want Your Approval?

Pressure in Sports Kids

Pressure And Social Approval Often, young athletes worry too much about what teammates, parents, coaches and friends think about how they’re performing on the court, field or course. When they seek others’ approval of their performance and abilities, and then don’t do well, they can feel inadequate. They might pressure … Read Sport Psychology Tip

Coach Communication With Parents And Athletes

Coach Communication

How Coaches Influence Parents And Athletes A coach asks: “How does a coach influence the parents and players to be committed to a process that requires investment in effort, time and money before results are ‘seen’?” Good question… In our fast-paced lives, kids and parents often expect results right away … Read Sport Psychology Tip

How Athletes Can Learn From Hank Aaron’s Mental Preparation

Youth Sports Psychology

Teaching Young Athletes to Mentally Prepare Hall of Fame player Hank Aaron, one of the best hitters in the history of baseball and a model of consistency, attributed much of his success to his mental preparation, both before and during a game. Rather than focusing on mechanics, he believed that … Read Sport Psychology Tip

Help Young Athletes Focus on The Process Before a Game

Pregame Mental Preparation

Helping Sports Kids’ Focus Before Games Just before a game, young athletes need to focus on what’s going on right now—not on the past or future. That means they need to learn how to avoid concentrating on what others think of them, on the score or win or other outcomes. … Read Sport Psychology Tip

Helping Sports Kids Who Feel Pressured By Adult Values

Ultimate Sports Parent Podcast

Giving Youth Sports Back to Kids “Nine-year-olds have the amazing ability to act like nine-year-olds,” says Bob Bialow, a former NBA players and author of “Just Let The Kids Play,” and, “Youth Sports: Still Failing Out Kids,” in a recent interview for our podcast. “Most of the folks running youth … Read Sport Psychology Tip