Keeping Game Time Focus in The Present Sophie is a 7th grade cross-country runner who has trouble letting go of past losses. She assumes one loss will lead to another. This is a common challenge for young athletes. They make generalizations about one bad game or race. If it happened … Read Sport Psychology Tip
It’s no secret that many young athletes aren’t very open to constructive feedback during games. That’s because they often take it personally. They think that what you say about their performance as athletes reflects on them as people. What does this mean for you as parents and coaches? It’s your … Read Sport Psychology Tip
Handling Criticism in Youth Sports Lisa Cohn of Kids’ Sports Psychology interviews coach James Jackson and Dr. Patrick Cohn about how kids handle criticism in sports today. When coaches don’t communicate well during games, kids take well-meaning constructive feedback personally and generally don’t learn or improve. Watch the video below … Read Sport Psychology Tip
Instilling Confidence in Young Athletes Why is confidence so important in youth sports? Because it’s a cure-all. It’s that simple. When kids feel confident, they don’t get scared. They don’t get worried or tense. They believe their skills are just as good as their competitors’. Confident athletes recover easily from … Read Sport Psychology Tip
Using Positive Mental Imagery For Success Too often, when young athletes prepare to compete or perform, they imagine in their minds the bad things that might happen to them—like getting beat out by a competitor or missing a critical shot. What they need to do instead is visualize success, says … Read Sport Psychology Tip
Separating Self-Esteem And Winning in Sports Colton, a motocross racer, has lots of confidence. But he hates to lose. He hates to lose so much that it takes up to a day to recover after a losing, he says. Here at the Ultimate Sports Parent and Kids’ Sports Psychology, we … Read Sport Psychology Tip