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 … Read Sport Psychology Tip
Helping Young Athletes Unlock Their Performance A sports parent asks: “I have a son who is a junior baseball player. To watch him warm up and practice, he looks the part and has already got some small college offers. He fits your description of a perfectionist and therefore lacks confidence. … Read Sport Psychology Tip
How to Unlock Athletes’ Minds from Avoiding Mistakes A young athlete asks: “I’m a 14-year old basketball player. I keep holding back on the court because I’m afraid to mess up. What should I do?” Fear of failure is one of the most common issues in youth sports. Your children … Read Sport Psychology Tip
What’s The Problem With Perfectionism? Perfectionist sports kids show up to practice on time and work hard to improve their skills. Coaches like them because they follow directions. Sounds perfect, right? But there’s a problem with perfectionist sports kids—often, both in sports and life. Perfectionists set high expectations for themselves. … Read Sport Psychology Tip
Perfectionism In Young Athletes We recently received a note from a parent about how her 10-year-old’s high expectations lead her to give up when faced with adversity. This is common when a child, like this softball player, has achieved success. She has pitched many perfect games, including at state playoffs, … Read Sport Psychology Tip
Helping Kids Move on After Mistakes Too often, kids get hung up on the mistakes they make in sports. That means as soon as they goof up, they have trouble getting the mistake out of their minds. They dwell on the mistake—instead of moving past it. They scold themselves for … Read Sport Psychology Tip