Should Sports Kids Expect to Perform Without Mistakes?

Coping With Mistakes

Helping Young Athletes Move on After Mistakes

A sport parent asks:

“My kids keep hearing that they are supposed to aim for a game without mistakes, but to expect that mistakes are going to happen nonetheless. They ask me if it is possible though, to actually have a game with zero mistakes?”

Telling your young athletes they are bound to makes mistakes and need to learn how to accept mistakes is great advice. As humans, they WILL make mistakes, no doubt about it.

The ability to cope with mistakes is one of the most important mental skills for athletes. When young athletes make mistakes, they often have trouble accepting them, which can lead to frustration and giving up.

These athletes get down on themselves, they lose focus. Their confidence starts waning. These are all signs of perfectionism, which is a huge issue in youth sports.

If your children are perfectionists they’ll have trouble coping with mistakes. They will think, like the person who asked this question, that mistakes can be avoided and should be avoided at all costs.

The reality is: Humans make mistakes and they are part of sports.

When perfectionists start making mistakes, it can trigger frustration, hurt confidence and derail their play.

Remember, while it may be mathematically plausible to have a game with “zero mistakes,” the chances of it happening are small, and more importantly, completely subjective.

A game with zero mistakes to one player may not be a game with zero mistakes to a coach or teammates.

Because of these perfectionist issues, it is important to teach kids that it’s okay to make mistakes mistakes. You want them to learn from their mistakes, not lament over them.

Let’s say your children are playing basketball, and they make a turnover. They might say to themselves, “How did I make that mistake! I can’t make mistakes!” They might start playing to avoid more mistakes too!

On the other hand, they might turn the ball over and then tell themselves, “Whoops, now let’s play defense.”

You want athletes to move on to the next play of the game, not allowing one mistake to affect their composure and focus.

Also, mistakes are an opportunity for athletes to improve in the next practice–they identify what to work on.

Learn more about how to help young athletes let go of mistakes and stay composed with “The Composed Sports Kid“:


*Subscribe to The Sports Psychology Podcast on iTunes
*Subscribe to The Sports Psychology Podcast on Spotify


The Composed Sports Kid

“The Composed Sports Kid” audio and workbook digital download program for young athletes and their parents or coach helps kids cope with frustration and anger in sports. Help your sports kids learn how to manage expectations and let go of mistakes so they can keep their head in the game. 

The Composed Sports Kid system is really two programs in one–one program to train parents and coaches how to help their kids practice composure, and one program that teaches young athletes–ages 6 to 13–how to improve composure, let go of mistakes quickly, have more self-acceptance, and thus enjoy sports more

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