Confidence in youth sports articles and tips for sports parents, young athletes, and youth coaches to improve mental performance and consistency.
Youth Athletes Need to Understand Mental Coaching Young athletes often resistant mental performance coaching because they don’t understand what it is… We know that athletes often have the wrong impression of what mental coaching is. Athletes often think mental coaching is therapy. They assume it’s only because something is wrong with … Read Sport Psychology Tip
Should Young Athletes Quit or Recommit to Sports? That’s a question that Andrew Simpson and his associates ask young athletes who may be approaching burnout. Simpson, chief vision officer, Player’s Fitness and Performance, helped create a training program for these athletes. The program looks at ways to help athletes recognize the … Read Sport Psychology Tip
As a sports psychology practitioner and founder of Maximize the Mind Mental Performance Coaching, Ashley Eckermann is fielding more and more requests from parents of kids as young as 7 or 8. Their biggest challenge is fear of failure, Eckermann said. Kids say they are afraid of messing up and … Read Sport Psychology Tip
What does it take for kids to perform at their peak during playoffs? Pressure increases a notch in the playoffs. A loss during the regular season is just a loss, just one game. However, in the playoffs, one game may be the difference between going home or going to the … Read Sport Psychology Tip
Improve your Athletes Performance Athletes are quick to focus on optimizing their physical performance but rarely concentrate on how they can improve their brain function in ways that will make them think and react faster. But it’s possible to measure certain aspects of brain function and tune up the brain, … Read Sport Psychology Tip
Craig Lambert, former chief sports writer at Harvard Magazine, says that kids can create a “signature style” that means they have taken ownership of their game, put their signature on it and made it all theirs. “You find the way that works best for you as an athlete, including your … Read Sport Psychology Tip
Carter Hogg, a 20-year-old college football player and inventor of a neck guard that aims to help athletes avoid injuries, discusses the fear of getting injured and the challenges of coming back after an injury. Listen to learn more!! Related Sports Psychology Articles Table of Contents Toggle Related Sports Psychology … Read Sport Psychology Tip
What Does “Setting the Standard” Mean in Youth Sports? Setting a high standard refers to establishing a level of quality, expectation or performance. Some teams set winning as the standard. Often, teams with a high expectation of winning adopt the credo, “Championship or Bust.” While winning may be the goal, … Read Sport Psychology Tip
Kids get emotional in street hockey. They might throw their hockey sticks because they missed a shot, for example. Coaches with the Charlotte Street Hockey League deal with such behavior by inviting kids to express their feelings, and then trying to help them find more appropriate ways to communicate. The … Read Sport Psychology Tip
As co-founder and executive director of L.E.A.D. Center for Youth in Atlanta, Kelli Stewart uses sports as a way to help kids learn skills that give them a leg up in life… And that effort is succeeding, she said during a recent interview with our Ultimate Sports Parent podcast. The … Read Sport Psychology Tip
Kids Confidence is Directly Impacted by Their Mistakes All athletes make mistakes. But how kids respond to mistakes is critical. For example, if a player misses the last shot of a basketball game, will that athlete pass up shots late in future games? If a young athlete drops a pass … Read Sport Psychology Tip
Benefits Of Having Fun During Practices and Games Creating fun for kids is an important focus for Kevin Hoover, CEO of Rally Day Camps and an owner of youth baseball and softball camps for major league baseball teams like the San Francisco Giants and San Diego Padres. “Fun and safety … Read Sport Psychology Tip
How to Push Through Challenges Have you ever wondered why some athletes succeed despite challenges and adversity while other athletes fall apart when encountering similar circumstances? The difference between these two types of athletes is mindset. An athlete’s mindset has a profound effect on athletic achievement. If kids’ mindsets don’t … Read Sport Psychology Tip
Kids and teens say they lack connections with adults in their schools, says Paul Caccamo, CEO and founder, Up2Us, a coach training program. Youth coaches can fill in the gap and build resilience, improved focus and self-esteem in young athletes, he says. To meet that goal, Up2Us partners with schools … Read Sport Psychology Tip
A Slump or Losing Streak Starts as Nothing Unusual Every athlete and team occasionally experiences bad games or unproductive performances. So, what turns a few bad games into a performance rut? What commonalities trap a player or team in a cycle of under performance? If your sports kids can identify … Read Sport Psychology Tip
How to Deal With Distractions Sports kids struggle with a number of distractions. They include: These examples are external distractions. While external distractions are bothersome, they are not the most formidable challenge for athletes. Internal distractions are much more destructive and difficult to manage, particularly the “what if” trap. ‘What … Read Sport Psychology Tip