Sports parenting and youth sports psychology articles for sports parents of young athletes to improve mental game and performance in kids
How Can Sports Parents Distract Kids? Unruly parents and crowds can really hurt kids’ confidence, says Gil Fried, professor and head of the sport management department at the University of New Haven and an expert on crowd control. Why? Just think about it. When athletes are trying to perform, what … Read Sport Psychology Tip
Encouraging Sports Kids Bjorn, a 12-year-old hockey player, joined a AAA team after three years of playing hockey, and suddenly found himself surrounded by other athletes with 7 or 8 years’ experience, while he only had three years’ experience. The other players didn’t pass to him and the coach initially … Read Sport Psychology Tip
Ensuring Sports Kids Are Focused Too often, sports kids simply go through the motions in youth sports, says Bobby Kipper, a former college coach and co-author of the book, “Performance Driven Thinking.” “The kids are there physically, but their minds are not there,” he says. “They’re not giving their all.” … Read Sport Psychology Tip
Embracing Failure to Grow in Youth Sports There’s two ways young athletes can deal with failure and losses, says Eric DeMeulenaere, a Clark University professor, former soccer coach and author of “Reflections From the Field.” They can look at losses from a growth mindset, which means feeling the pain and … Read Sport Psychology Tip
Playing Time in Youth Sports Here’s an interesting study result: If young athletes have to choose between losing and getting to play the whole game, they choose playing time. That’s a tidbit from Steven Frierman, a professor at Hofstra University and a former youth sports coach. Yes, that’s right. Winning … Read Sport Psychology Tip
Can Young Athletes Learn Mental Skills? We think it’s never too early to educate young athletes on mental game principles that will help instill confidence and success in sports as they grow older. Providing a foundation of mental skills can help your young athletes understand the importance of a good … Read Sport Psychology Tip