Youth sports psychology articles and strategies for sports parents of young athletes to improve mental game and performance.
Staying Tough in The Face of Bully Coaches We’ve warned you over and over that it’s critical to protect your young athletes from bullying in youth sports. The firing this week of Mike Rice, Rutgers basketball coach, for physically kicking players, throwing balls at them, and verbally abusing them is … Read Sport Psychology Tip
Pregame Routines in Youth Sports It’s easy to assume that an all-star guard like Pavin Parrish of the Rochester Rockets doesn’t face mental game challenges. The truth is, he battles with challenges like jeering, doubt, and worry every day-even though he has made his mark by scoring an average of … Read Sport Psychology Tip
Staying Focused in Youth Sports Sports kids would benefit much more from sports if they were less distracted and had more fun. That’s the word from Troy Drayton, coordinator of youth programs for the Miami Dolphins. Drayton, who visits elementary and middle schools three days a week to teach about … Read Sport Psychology Tip
Sports Bullying is in All Levels The recent announcement that 22-year-old tennis pro Rebecca Marino quit tennis due to bullying should be yet another warning to sports parents that bullying should be taken seriously in youth sports. Marino, who had a 150-107 WTA record, said that she struggled with being … Read Sport Psychology Tip
How Do Top-Level Athletes Hone their Mental Game? Scott Smith, an internationally competitive figure skater and the alternate in the 2006 Olympic games, recently sat down with us to give us his secrets. Smith, who was the only competitor to land a clean quadruple jump at the 2006 US Figure … Read Sport Psychology Tip
Dropout Rates Among Female Athlete Young women drop out of sports—starting at about the age of 13—at twice the rate of young men, says Dr. Joan Steidenger, a licensed psychologist who works with athletes. Why? It’s all about their relationships, says Steidenger, who is writing a book about girls in … Read Sport Psychology Tip