Understanding sports psychology for sports parents articles for sport parents to learn the importance of sport psychology for their young athletes.
How to Help Young Athletes Stay in the Present Mistakes and losses are part of the game in sports. But often, kids fear them. There are two types of athletes in sports: The first focuses on the fear of making mistakes while the second athlete focuses on making plays. When … Read Sport Psychology Tip
The Importance of Game Plans Game plans are blueprints for performing well or beating competitors during competition–and they’re only helpful if kids put them into action during games or competition. For example, in football, young athletes’ plan may be to identify the style of defense they’ll play during different game … Read Sport Psychology Tip
Young Athletes who are Perfectionist “I have a son, age 15. He is skilled in many sports at school. Rugby, Hockey, XC running and Athletics (sprint and long jump where he holds the school record in both these).” “When he makes a mistake he can ‘lose’ it and can be … 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
Coaches & Friends, Not Parents, Pressure Sports Kids The number of kids playing team sports is dropping quickly… To understand the factors behind this drop off, Yellowbrick Treatment Program surveyed 1,000 Americans about pressure in youth sports, says Matt Zajechowski, senior content strategist for Yellowbrick. Those surveyed were people who … 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
How Coaches Influence Parents And Athletes A coach asks: “How does a coach influence the parents and players to be committed to a process that requires investment in effort, time and money before results are ‘seen’?” Good question… In our fast-paced lives, kids and parents often expect results right away … 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
Communicating With Other Sports Parents A parent asks, “How do you talk to other parents about being good sports parents?” This is a good question. Too often, well-meaning sports parents are too loud on the sidelines, argue with the refs and coaches, and overall, set bad examples for their children. … 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
What to Tell Sports Kids Before a Game A parent asks, “Can you tell me two simple things to tell my sports kid before a game that will help him and not stress him?” This parent has the right idea. Just before a game, you want to keep it simple. … Read Sport Psychology Tip