Sport psychology articles and tips for sport parents to help their athletes develop greater confidence, own their role on and off the field, and grow in mental toughness.
Teach Athletes Strategies to Control Their Thinking Are your sports kids anxious during stressful moments while they’re competing? Are they generally anxious as athletes? Why do so many athletes feel anxious during competitions? Two issues contribute to anxiety in sports. First, young athletes label themselves as anxious. When this happens, … Read Sport Psychology Tip
A Dad’s Frustration with His Athlete Table of Contents Toggle A Dad’s Frustration with His Athlete He’s searching for a way to avoid bursting into anger. Related Articles on Kids’ Mental Game: Improve Your Mental Game From Anywhere In The World A sports dad says that his 11-year-old daughter is … Read Sport Psychology Tip
Athletes’ Acceptance of Mental Training Often, young athletes don’t understand the benefits of mental game training. They say they’re already mentally strong. Or they’re afraid that they’ll have to sit on a couch and reveal their innermost vulnerabilities. Mostly, they don’t understand what mental game training is–or its benefits. To … Read Sport Psychology Tip
Communicating With Sports Kids After Games Sports parents often ask how to best communicate with their sports children after a game. This is a critical question; the messages that parents give their sports kids after a game can do wonders for their self-esteem and confidence, or on the contrary, do … Read Sport Psychology Tip
Helping Young Athletes Overcome Negative Beliefs It’s common for young athletes to struggle with doubt and negative thoughts about their performance. They tell themselves that: This type of negative self-talk can be detrimental to your young athletes, and if it isn’t addressed, can lead to mental-game challenges. With each negative … Read Sport Psychology Tip
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
How To Avoid Over-Coaching Your Athletes Some well-meaning parents tend to give kids too much advice just before a game. It often sounds like this: “Don’t forget to get your foot behind the ball when you’re kicking. Keep your head up when you’re shooting.” Worse, parents remind young athletes not … Read Sport Psychology Tip
Help Sports Kids Overcome Self-Doubt Do your sports kids lose confidence just before a game or competition? Confidence in youth sports is the most important mental game advantage. They worry, for example, about the size and strength of their opponents, and compare themselves to other athletes. They tell themselves they’re … Read Sport Psychology Tip
Confidence For Young Athletes In “Sessions with Doc,” Dr. Patrick Cohn answers your sports psychology and mental training questions about sports confidence and parenting advice. Visit Peaksports.com and click on contact us to submit your question for Dr. Cohn to answer in his mental game videocast or podcast. Are you … Read Sport Psychology Tip
Do you have a sports kid who excels in practice, but freezes up during games? Does your sports kid criticize herself or himself for making mistakes? As soon as your young athlete has goofed up during a game or competition, does he or she freeze up and play it safe? … Read Sport Psychology Tip
Mentally strong athletes—those who have done some mental game training—don’t balk after making mistakes. They don’t call themselves negative names. And they’re often great team players because they’re so positive. Truth is, however, that sports kids resist mental training, and miss out on these and other important benefits. Why? Because … Read Sport Psychology Tip
What Sport Parents Should Avoid Lisa Cohn here from KidsSportsPsychology.com. I admit it. I said and did all the wrong things with my first young athlete, especially before a game. Long before we got in the car, I’d start talking about the last game. I’d talk about how big the … 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
Some young athletes hurt their performance because they are perfectionists. Perfectionism in sports does have some advantages for athlete. Perfectionists tend to be highly motivated, to work hard, and strive to be the best. However, perfectionism has its downside. Perfectionists often don’t perform up to their abilities because they’re afraid … Read Sport Psychology Tip
Tips to Ensure Your Kids Excel in Sports We all want our kids to excel in sports. But exactly what does it mean to excel — and how can parents best help young athletes? It’s all about perspective. Read on to learn great tips for ensuring your kids excel in … Read Sport Psychology Tip
How to Tell if Your Sports Kid is Ready For Mental Training “Is my 9-year-old too young for mental training?” asks one sports parent. It’s clear, she says, that her son has some mental game blocks. “In practice he is one of the best players on his team, but his … Read Sport Psychology Tip