Youth sports psychology articles and strategies for sports parents of young athletes to improve mental game and performance.
Mental Toughness To Reach Your Goals Kirk Mango is a former Division I National Champion, 3-Time All-American, 3-Time Hall of Fame Athlete, and was selected in 2009 as #8 on Northern Illinois University’s Top 50 Huskies of All-Time list. In high school, however, his coach told him he wouldn’t make … Read Sport Psychology Tip
Social Approval in Youth Sports What your kids learn in sports often transfers to other areas of their lives. Take confidence, for example. If kids learn how to feel confident in youth sports–meaning, if they know how to identify and address confidence busters–this often means higher confidence in other areas … Read Sport Psychology Tip
Taking Practice Confidence to Games in Youth Sports Lisa Cohn here to tell you we are seeing more and more perfectionist athletes today. And that’s good news and bad news when it comes to sports. For example, my 6-year-old son loves to practice, but freezes up during games. If asked … Read Sport Psychology Tip
Girls in Youth Sports Too often, coaches treat female athletes differently than male athletes. Coaches tell females to act more like men. But, truth is, girls and women don’t approach sports in the same way men approach sports, says Joan Steidinger, author of “Sisterhood in Sports: How Female Athletes Collaborate … Read Sport Psychology Tip
High Expectations in Youth Sports Parents, it’s easy to hurt your sports kids’ confidence before a game by saying or doing things that you think will help your athletes. You may think that you’re boosting kids’ confidence, but in reality, you might cause them to feel more expectations. For example, … Read Sport Psychology Tip
Sports Kids And Trusting Their Skills Just before a game, you want your athletes to trust in their skills. If they don’t trust in what they’ve learned, they’re likely to try too hard to perfect their skills during the game or perform tight—and that will hurt their performance and confidence. … Read Sport Psychology Tip