Confidence in youth sports articles and tips for sports parents, young athletes, and youth coaches to improve mental performance and consistency.
How can you help your young athlete manage conflict? Conflict in youth sports is inevitable, but it does not have to derail your child’s season or mental well-being. With the right tools and support, young athletes can learn to resolve conflict, stay committed to their goals, and come out of … Read Sport Psychology Tip
How Can Parents Help Athletes Improve Focused? As a sports parent, how often do you notice your child physically present in a game—but mentally somewhere else? One of the biggest challenges across youth and competitive sports is mental engagement. Skill, strength, and conditioning matter, but when focus drifts, decision-making declines, … Read Sport Psychology Tip
Andy Whittier knows how to cope with pressure. He transitioned from playing college football to representing the U.S. in the skeleton sport, a solo, head-first sled race down an icy track at speeds of up to 89 mph. At first, it was terrifying, he said during an interview with our … Read Sport Psychology Tip
How Does Mental Coaching Help Youth Athletes? SUMMARY: Young athletes train their bodies every day, but mental training is just as important for long-term success. Many young athletes struggle with fragile confidence, performance anxiety, or difficulty focusing during competition. Mental coaching helps them develop skills like self-talk, reset routines, and … Read Sport Psychology Tip
Can Young Athlete Train Their Brain to Perform Like a Pro? Visualization in youth sports works—and if athletes receive feedback in real time, they can improve their focus and performance, said Konstantin Sonkin, a neuroscientist and CEO at i-BrainTech. He developed a sports-specific training game platform that offers insights into … Read Sport Psychology Tip
Sports kids should push past challenges by focusing on incremental steps rather than the bigger end goal, said Dianette Wells, a world-class mountaineer, ultra-endurance athlete and author. For example, to prepare for a hike in Malibu, Calif., she focused on improving her time by a minute each time she hiked. … Read Sport Psychology Tip