Confidence in sports kids articles and tips for sports parents, young athletes, and youth coaches to improve mental performance and consistency.
Do You Over Coach Your Athletes From the Sidelines? It’s important to build kids’ confidence, on and off the field. But its’ not always obvious to sports parents about how to do that. In a recent interview, Greg Winkler, award-winning soccer coach and author of “Coaching a Season of Significance,” … Read Sport Psychology Tip
Strategies For Building Confidence in Young Athletes There’s a reason Mark Lawton, longtime coach and teacher, takes his team to the championship level… He focuses on building a team culture that boosts kids’ confidence. When we spoke to him recently, he gave us some quick tips for both parents and … Read Sport Psychology Tip
What to Tell Sports Kids Before a Game A parent asks, “Can you tell me two simple things to tell my sports kid before a game that will help him and not stress him?” This parent has the right idea. Just before a game, you want to keep it simple. … Read Sport Psychology Tip
How Can Sports Parents Distract Kids? Unruly parents and crowds can really hurt kids’ confidence, says Gil Fried, professor and head of the sport management department at the University of New Haven and an expert on crowd control. Why? Just think about it. When athletes are trying to perform, what … Read Sport Psychology Tip
Motivating Kids to Play Sports How to motivate kids to play sports is a hot topic today, given all the news about obesity in our country. It’s also a hot topic for our readers and members, who often ask us what’s the best way to ensure their children are motivated … Read Sport Psychology Tip
Making The Most Out of Losses How can you teach your kids to make the most out of losses? Lots of ways, says Frank J. Sileo, Ph.D, a psychologist with more than 16 years’ experience working with kids and families, and the author of “Sally Sore Loser: A Story about Winning … Read Sport Psychology Tip
Mental Game Resources Coach Tony Acosta came to us with a tough problem. His kids, 10- to 11-year-olds who play Australian rules football, didn’t believe they could beat a tough opponent in a championship game. “A few weeks ago a parent told me he had heard a boy say, ‘We … Read Sport Psychology Tip
Do You Pressure Your Sports Kids? One of our readers, a caring sports mom, has this confession to make: “I am guilty! I am a frustrated but well-meaning mother who has put pressure to perform on my children.” This is an important realization for this sports mom. She understands that … Read Sport Psychology Tip
Rewarding Positive Behavior in Youth Sports Just how important is giving positive feedback to young athletes? For our Ultimate Sports Parent Radio show, we recently checked in with baseball coach Rob Gelphman about this topic. He says giving kids compliments, especially for making small achievements, like fielding a ground ball, … Read Sport Psychology Tip