How Are Sports Kids Their Own Worst Enemies?

The Pitfalls of High Expectations

Just how many ways can young athletes sabotage their sports performance?

In lots of ways, says Dr. Harold Shinitzky, a sports psychologist and author of “Your Mind: An Owner’s Manual for a Better Life.”

“A lot of athletes, based on how they think of themselves, engage in behaviors that interfere with their ultimate performance. That’s the saboteur,” he says.

Examples? When kids decide to eat poorly, get little sleep, or engage in other activities that trip them up, they’re sabotaging themselves, he says. They also think in ways that sabotage their performance and happiness.

For example, one golfer placed unobtainable demands on himself about his putting. If he missed a putt, he’d dwell on the next one so much he’d trip himself up. “He was setting himself up for failure by holding himself up to unobtainable goals,” says Shinitzky.

Here at Kids’ Sports Psychology, we call this holding high expectations. When kids have such high expectations, they get frustrated when they don’t meet them. They then don’t perform well.

The solution:

Help your young athletes manage their own expectations.

They need to focus on small, achievable mini-goals—make four good shots on the goal, for example—rather than on getting big wins.

Another way that athletes set themselves up is if they focus on their opponents, not on their own play. This hurts their performance.

Here’s an example: When golfers compete with Tiger Woods, they focus so much on the fact that they’re competing with Woods that they average one stroke worse than usual!

“It’s not that Tiger is changing them. Instead of focusing on their own behavior—which they can control—they focus on an external distraction,” he says.

We call this making comparisons. We think kids need to be aware of when they’re making comparisons—and should take efforts to stop doing this…

They need to understand that making comparisons generally lowers sports kids’ self-confidence. Instead, kids need to change what they focus on. They need to focus on what they should do to get the job done. They shouldn’t put other players on a pedestal.

Kids’ Sports Psychology offers loads of other resources for helping you be the best sport parent possible and help your kids make the most of their physical talent.

If you’re already a Kids’ Sports Psychology member, you can begin by listening to our interview with Shinitzky about kids’ sabotaging their performance. Also free for Kids’ Sports Psychology members are access to e-books, audios and videos that address these topics (and more):

•  Appreciate Your Talents: How to Avoid Making Comparisons (e-book for kids)
• Pre-competition Mental Game Review Sheets for Young Athletes (e-book for kids)
• Confidence Video Tip 14: Postgame Tips to Grow Confidence (video for kids)

But that’s not all. At Kids’ Sports Psychology, you can download more than 17 e-books—some written for parents and some specifically for sports kids.

You can also access audio and video programs and articles that help you and your young athletes get the most out of your sports experience.

Here’s what one member recently wrote:

“I would like to take this opportunity to thank you and your team for all the support you have and are still giving to me and the countless others within the sports world. I can’t thank you enough for the knowledge that you have bestowed upon us!”

Help your sports kids improve their inner self-talk and manage expectations that sabotage their performance:

Kids’ Sports Psychology

 

P.S. If you’re already a Kids’ Sports Psychology member, you can visit this page to listen to our interview with Shinitzky:

Dr. Harold Shinitzky Youth Sports Psychology Interview

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Help Young Athletes Boost Confidence in Sports!

Do your young athletes:

• Criticize themselves often after making mistakes?
• Freeze up and look scared when faced with competitive pressure?
• Lose confidence after working with a negative coach?
• Perform like stars in practice but freeze up or play tentatively during games or competitions?

If so, check out The Ultimate Sports Parent!

The Ultimate Sports Parent will teach you powerful mental toughness secrets to improve your child’s success in sports.

Get proven strategies form leading youth sports experts!

The Ultimate Sports Parent: a 14-Day Plan For Kids’ Success in Sports

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Help Your Young Athletes Let Go of Mistakes and Cope With Frustration!

Do your sports kids throw tantrums, cry and/or lack emotional control in competition?

Do your sports kid shut down or act like the Incredible Hulk after they make just one mistake that no one notices?

Are you fed up with your young athletes’ self-destructive behavior?

Check out: The Composed Sports Kid

The Composed Sports Kid system is 2 programs in one.

• 1 program to train parents and coaches how to help their kids practice composure
• 1 program that teaches young athletes (ages 8-12) how to improve composure, let go of mistakes quickly, have more self-acceptance and thus enjoy sports more!

The Composed Sports Kid: A 7-Day Plan For Helping young Athletes Cope With Frustration

What are parents and coaches saying?

“He Has Really Benefited From The Program”

“I recently purchased The Composed Sports Kid CD program for my son Jonathan who is 10. He is a skilled soccer player that was having issues with loss of control on occasion during games. He has really benefited from the program. He carries himself much better these days and even talks about his composure after the game to me before talking about the goals that he scores.”
~Dave, Sports Parent

“Treasure Trove of Practical, Insightful Information”

“Kids’ Sports Psychology is quite a find. It’s a treasure trove of practical, insightful information presented in an organized, simple format that is so easy to use. It is exactly what I was looking for to help my daughter succeed in competition, as much as she succeeds during practice. Additionally, these concepts can be applied to all areas of her life and, as her parent, I can’t stress enough how important it is to me, that she develop confidence, and how valuable this resource is to that end. Thank you so much!”
~Stephanie Dobbs