Focus in youth sports articles and tips for sports parents, young athletes, and youth coaches to improve mental performance and overall consistency.
Does a 30-point lead at half-time of a basketball game ensure victory? Will a 3-goal lead in a soccer match with 10 minutes remaining guarantee victory? Is it even possible that a golfer with a 5-stroke lead heading into the last two holes of a tournament can lose? There have … Read Sport Psychology Tip
Mentally Prepare to Compete Against Higher-Ranked Teams The main mental ingredient in upset victories is belief. By belief, we’re not just talking about pie-in-the-sky belief, but belief steeped in reality. The first step in understanding belief is to know the effect of a lack of belief. Young athletes who lack … Read Sport Psychology Tip
Sports kids face a number of challenges when their identity is all about sports, said Dr. Becca Wallace, a clinical pediatric psychologist at Children’s Hospital in New Orleans. Children often get overly involved in sports, leading to their identity being closely tied to their athletic performance. She offers tips for creating … Read Sport Psychology Tip
There’s so much goodness that can come from participating in youth sports, but ensuring kids experience that goodness requires teams to establish team cultures based on clear expectations of players, parents and coaches. Team agreements and ethical coaching can help create the opportunity for sports kids to benefit from all … Read Sport Psychology Tip
How Athletes’ Confidence is Fragile Athletes can feel confident in their ability to successfully perform in some circumstances and not others. For example, a basketball player may feel more confident when shooting free throws early in a basketball game than when on the foul line in the fourth quarter of … Read Sport Psychology Tip
What Skills Help Youth Athletes with Toxic Environments? When coaches are negative or condescending toward their players or when parents argue with refs, youth sports can feel toxic to young athletes. That can lead to anxiety, depression and fear of failure. This behavior from coaches can undermine athletes’ self-esteem and … Read Sport Psychology Tip