Young athletes will learn how to play their best in high pressured moments. Sport parents will learn strategies to help alleviate pressure they may be putting on their athletes.
What Parents Need to Know About Concussions New concussion rules and regulations can build respect in young athletes for their opponents. In addition, the rules don’t hurt kids’ other mental game skills. That’s the word from Thomas Heiden, who played college hockey at Notre Dame and has coached many different … Read Sport Psychology Tip
How Can Your Daughter Overcome Stereotypes? Stereotypes about girls in sports undermine girls’ confidence, dreams and performance, says Donny DeDonatis III, CEO of the United States Specialty Sports Association (USSSA), a former pro athlete and the dad of twins in youth sports. As the head of the USSSA, DeDonatis is … Read Sport Psychology Tip
After Performing Poorly Do Your Athletes Dwell on Mistakes? Athletes always want to perform well and often feel expectations from you to do well. Well-meaning parents want to improve performance by eliminating mistakes. Imagine how that would play out in your athlete’s mind, “I missed three 5—foot putts, shanked two … Read Sport Psychology Tip
How to Help Perfectionist Young Athletes Many top athletes say that they’re perfectionists. When they say this, sports kids may assume that perfectionism will help them attain their full potential. While perfectionism has advantages, it can actually prevent young athletes from reaching their potential. While perfectionists show up for practice … Read Sport Psychology Tip
Sports Specialization is Not Always a Good Thing Christie Pearce Rampone, a two-time Women’s World Cup champion, three-time Olympic gold medalist, and former captain of the US Women’s National Soccer Team teamed up with sports neuropsychologist and brain health expert Dr. Kristine Keane to provide tips to sports parents. The … Read Sport Psychology Tip
How to Reduce Pressure in Youth Sports Have you ever heard your sports kids say, “Sports is my whole life,” or “I live for basketball,” or “Eat. Sleep, Play soccer.” Many athletes wrap their self-worth around sports. They surround themselves with like-minded teammates who are their main source of social … Read Sport Psychology Tip
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 … Read Sport Psychology Tip
Finding Flow in Sports Brooks Elms, a youth sports coach and former Division 3 player for NYU, says that as a young athlete, he was very anxious and too focused on winning. He brings that background to his coaching, helping kids cope with butterflies and focus on what’s most important. … Read Sport Psychology Tip
Kids Who Fail to Perform Well in Competition Table of Contents Toggle Kids Who Fail to Perform Well in Competition Different Mental Approach Related Articles on Youth Sports: The Composed Sports Kid A sports grandparent says, “I have a 10-year-old grandson who plays little league baseball. When he started playing … Read Sport Psychology Tip
How to Perform Freely We received an email from a young athlete what is feeling nervous… “I have a figure skating competition next week and I was wondering if there are some tips to help me for the competition. I get really nervous for no reason. And I do really … Read Sport Psychology Tip
How to Help Athletes be Relaxed before a Game Parents want to know what to tell their athletes before a game that will help them perform well and feel less pressure… For example, parents say: *Do you coach your kids on what to do? *Do you let them mentally prepare … Read Sport Psychology Tip
How to Help Young Athletes Overcome Worry A sports parent wrote to us recently to say… “My son is a top player but cannot perform any longer in matches when there is a crowd watching. He is 17, however he is as tight as a drum when playing matches now.” … Read Sport Psychology Tip
How to Keep Athletes in the Game A sports parent asks: “My son is a HS freshman with huge potential in football but is not wanting to pursue it, he says he does not feel ‘passionate’ about it, even after being told by a few retired coaches and refs that … Read Sport Psychology Tip
Why Do Young Athletes Fear Failure? A sports parent asks: “Our 12-year-old son is having challenges in baseball. He is playing not to make mistakes and seems to have lost his aggression and effectiveness. He is also the smallest, youngest kid on the team. What tips might you have for … Read Sport Psychology Tip
Why Do Young Athletes Want to Quit Sports? Why do young athletes want to quit sports? We’d love to hear from you… Often, athletes quit sports because of pressures from outside sources, be it parents, coaches, or teammates, but reasons vary. Here’s what some young athletes have told us: These … Read Sport Psychology Tip
How to Develop Confidence in Sports Kids Sports parents, and coaches alike, play an integral role in how your sports kids feel about the sports they play and their overall experiences. Often sports parents, however, can unwittingly hurt their kids’ confidence by being overly enthusiastic. For example, it makes many … Read Sport Psychology Tip