How Your Pregame Talk Can Turn Into Pressure For Athletes

Youth Sports Psychology

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, if you say, “Be sure to score three goals,” it can make kids feel more expectations. It’s pressure, and kids who feel pressured often play to not make mistake or not lose.

Parents often like to remind kids about how to perfect their skills before a game…

That’s a bad idea, too. Don’t fill their brains with advice about how to perfect their shot. That’s for practice—not for games. Just before a game, kids need to trust in what they’ve learned.

And don’t compare your kids to other athletes, saying things like, “He may be great on defense, but you’re an awesome dribbler!”

It psyches kids out to focus on others’ abilities or skills.

Want to learn more about how to prepare kids mentally before a game?

Exclusive members of Kids’ Sports Psychology can check out the sixth article in our series, “Parents, Don’t Do This Before a Game” right here:

Kids’ Sports Psychology

At Kids’ Sports Psychology, we’ve got loads of other resources, including articles, e-books, audio interviews, videos—and more!


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Help Young Athletes Boost Confidence in Sports!

The Ultimate Sports Parent

Every day, we receive letters from parents like you who want their children and teens to excel in sports. However, these parents can see fear, doubt, and frustration on the faces of their kids who struggle with the “inner” game of sports. But these parents have no idea how to help their kids overcome the worries, expectations and self-defeating thoughts that prevent their young athletes from feeling confident and successful.

You can benefit from our 15-plus years’ of work in sports psychology and sports parenting research. Now, you can tap into our secrets to sports success through a cutting-edge, 14-day program that helps young athletes overcome the top “mental game” challenges that sports parents face—and the top challenges young athletes face.

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