Sports psychology for young athletes articles and tips for sports parents, young athletes, and youth coaches to improve mental performance in sports.
What Do Pregame Jitters Mean? Summary: Pregame jitters are the nervous, jumpy feeling athletes get before competition — racing heart, sweaty palms, a knot in the stomach. They’re a normal sign that the body is gearing up to perform, not a sign that something is wrong. In most cases, jitters … Read Sport Psychology Tip
Help Athletes Be Less Self-Critical Are your sports kids critical of themselves? After every mistake or bad game, do they put themselves down? When kids criticize themselves excessively, they experience fractured confidence, low motivation and underperformance. The criticism also creates a loop: they perform badly…they criticize themselves…their confidence and motivation … Read Sport Psychology Tip
How do your athletes respond to constructive criticism? Table of Contents Toggle How do your athletes respond to constructive criticism? Athletes are afraid of constructive criticism for several reasons: Are Your Athletes Receptive To Criticism? When young athletes receive criticism, they should ask themselves three questions: They should then: Help … Read Sport Psychology Tip
Taking Skills from Practice to Competition Trust is one of the most important factors that leads to peak performance in sports. When young athletes trust their skills, they’re performing or playing in the moment. They rely on the skills they learned to perform to their abilities under any circumstances. Rather … Read Sport Psychology Tip
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
Help Young Athletes Build Trust and Confidence Trust and confidence are very important for young athletes’ success in sports and are interrelated. If athletes lack confidence, they don’t believe in their ability to perform under pressure. If they don’t trust their skills, they lack confidence heading into competitions. Let’s take … Read Sport Psychology Tip