How Perfectionism Can Lead to Fear of Failure A sports parent writes: “My child is a 9-year old figure skater. She is very passionate with her sport but sometimes she tend to get very frustrated when she performs poorly in her program. Also, when she is performing well, her coach … Read Sport Psychology Tip
How to Unlock Athletes’ Minds from Avoiding Mistakes A young athlete asks: “I’m a 14-year old basketball player. I keep holding back on the court because I’m afraid to mess up. What should I do?” Fear of failure is one of the most common issues in youth sports. Your children … Read Sport Psychology Tip
How High Expectations Lead to Pressure in Young Athletes A recent NCAA poll of more than 21,000 current college athletes shed some interesting light on how pressured these athletes feel about making it big. The data, from NCAA’s GOALS Study of the Student-Athlete experience, and just reported in USA Today, … Read Sport Psychology Tip
Perfectionism In Young Athletes We recently received a note from a parent about how her 10-year-old’s high expectations lead her to give up when faced with adversity. This is common when a child, like this softball player, has achieved success. She has pitched many perfect games, including at state playoffs, … Read Sport Psychology Tip
Fear of Failure in Youth Sports Fear of failure is a common challenge for sports kids. It looks like this: Sally, a soccer player, dribbles down the field and loses the ball. As soon as she makes a mistake in the game, she starts worrying about making other mistakes. So … 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