{"id":1005,"date":"2011-02-10T21:33:13","date_gmt":"2011-02-10T21:33:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/?p=1005"},"modified":"2025-08-07T04:48:51","modified_gmt":"2025-08-07T08:48:51","slug":"the-top-4-pregame-mistakes-sports-parents-make","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/the-top-4-pregame-mistakes-sports-parents-make\/","title":{"rendered":"The Top 4 Pregame Mistakes Sports Parents Make"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"600\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/01\/boosting-confidence-in-the-face-of-little-playing-time-4.jpg\" alt=\"Youth Sports Psychology\" class=\"wp-image-3810\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/01\/boosting-confidence-in-the-face-of-little-playing-time-4.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/01\/boosting-confidence-in-the-face-of-little-playing-time-4-300x150.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Top_4_Sports_Parents_Mistakes\"><\/span>Top 4 Sports Parents\u2019 Mistakes<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2><div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_83 ez-toc-wrap-center counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/the-top-4-pregame-mistakes-sports-parents-make\/#Top_4_Sports_Parents_Mistakes\" >Top 4 Sports Parents\u2019 Mistakes<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/the-top-4-pregame-mistakes-sports-parents-make\/#1_Avoid_comparing_your_kids_to_other_athletes\" >1. Avoid comparing your kids to other athletes.<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/the-top-4-pregame-mistakes-sports-parents-make\/#2_Dont_place_high_expectations_on_your_kids\" >2. Don\u2019t place high expectations on your kids.<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/the-top-4-pregame-mistakes-sports-parents-make\/#3_Dont_over-analyze_your_kids_performance%E2%80%94especially_before_games\" >3. Don\u2019t over-analyze your kids\u2019 performance\u2014especially before games.<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/the-top-4-pregame-mistakes-sports-parents-make\/#4_Avoid_focusing_on_kids_failures\" >4. Avoid focusing on kids\u2019 failures.<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/the-top-4-pregame-mistakes-sports-parents-make\/#Related_Articles_on_Youth_Sports\" >Related Articles on Youth Sports:<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/the-top-4-pregame-mistakes-sports-parents-make\/#Help_Young_Athletes_Boost_Confidence_in_Sports\" >Help Young Athletes Boost Confidence in Sports!<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n\n\n\n\n<p>Lisa and Patrick Cohn here to tell you we\u2019re guilty&#8230;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We\u2019ve committed some of the <em><strong>Top 4 Sports Parents\u2019 Mistakes<\/strong><\/em>, which we cover below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Even though we know the dangers of making these mistakes, when we\u2019re feeling especially excited for or worried about our sports kids, we commit these no-nos. And then we see the negative results our actions have on our kids.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For example, Lisa committed a <strong>mental game<\/strong> no-no just this morning. While taking her dancer to the second day of an important audition, Lisa spent the whole car ride asking her dancer to compare her performance yesterday with the other dancers\u2019 performance&#8230;.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>\u201cHow did Mattie look? Did anyone screw up? How did the coach react after she saw you perform, <strong>compared<\/strong> to how she reacted to the others\u2019 performance? Was there anyone there who was better than you?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Lisa\u2019s dancer turned on the radio and said she didn\u2019t want to talk. But clearly Lisa\u2019s comments only increased her dancer\u2019s anxiety.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Bad Lisa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The point is, we\u2019re all human. But if we\u2019re equipped with helpful information, at least we can TRY to avoid making these mistakes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So here are our top four sports parents\u2019 mistakes, based on our soon-to-be-released program<em>, &#8220;The Confident Sports Kids: A 7-Day Plan for Building Self-Confidence in Young Athletes.&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We&#8217;ll have copies of our new program very soon, and it will give you these tips and many more:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"1_Avoid_comparing_your_kids_to_other_athletes\"><\/span>1. Avoid comparing your kids to other athletes.<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>All this does is psyche them out. Even if you\u2019re saying they\u2019re better than all the others. They need to focus on their own strengths\u2014not on what other kids are doing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"2_Dont_place_high_expectations_on_your_kids\"><\/span>2. Don\u2019t place high expectations on your kids.<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Avoid saying things like, \u201cYou should be the top scorer out there today.\u201d or \u201cI want you to make 5 threes today!\u201d Kids take these expectations seriously, and when they don\u2019t meet up to them, they become frustrated. This busts their <strong>confidence.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"3_Dont_over-analyze_your_kids_performance%E2%80%94especially_before_games\"><\/span>3. Don\u2019t over-analyze your kids\u2019 performance\u2014especially before games.<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>If you fill their heads with a ton of detail, they\u2019ll only get confused. And up tight. They need to be able to rely on their training and re-act quickly and intuitively to what\u2019s happening. They don\u2019t need to be thinking about your detailed instructions regarding their stance, how they hold their heads and where they should point their feet when running toward the ball.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"4_Avoid_focusing_on_kids_failures\"><\/span>4. Avoid focusing on kids\u2019 failures.<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>That means censor yourself when you\u2019re tempted to say things like, \u201cDon\u2019t double-fault today,\u201d or \u201cI hope you don\u2019t commit any turnovers\u201d or \u201cRemember how nervous you were when you last tried out for this team?\u201d When kids focus on failures, it hurts their <strong>confidence.<\/strong> They need to keep their self-talk <strong>positive.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Okay, it\u2019s your turn. Please visit our blog and give us your confessions, comments and questions. All of this will help us help you better with our \u201cConfident Sports Kid\u201d program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Do you commit these mistakes? How do your kids react? Are there other sports parent blunders us adults should avoid?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We&#8217;ve had lot&#8217;s of concerned parents posting comments on our blog. Please join the conversation on our blog by posting below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>P.S. We\u2019re standing by, waiting to hear from you. Fess up. What mistakes do you make, what mistakes do the sports parents around you make? How do these no-nos affect kids? This will help us put the finishing touches on our \u201cThe Confident Sports Kid\u201d program. Sound off today&#8230;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-dots\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"related-articles-on-hockey-mental-game\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Related_Articles_on_Youth_Sports\"><\/span>Related Articles on Youth Sports:<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/teaching-sports-kids-pregame-plans\/\"><strong>Teaching Sports Kids Pregame Plans<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/how-to-turn-pregame-jitters-into-a-positive\/\"><strong>How to Turn Pregame Jitters into a Positive<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/how-to-help-kids-cope-with-mistakes\/\"><strong>How to Help Kids Cope With Mistakes<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"block-f49818fa-7c7a-4ee3-b5ee-66581aad2c71\">*Subscribe to\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/sports-psychology-podcast-by-peaksports-com\/id152566009\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>The Sports Psychology Podcast<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0on iTunes<br>*Subscribe to <a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/0ynyaalKxbnNmsoeL8gF5X?si=8224669de9b3435b\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>The Sports Psychology Podcast<\/strong><\/a> on Spotify<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-dots\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Help_Young_Athletes_Boost_Confidence_in_Sports\"><\/span>Help Young Athletes Boost Confidence in Sports!<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright size-full is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/ultimate-sports-parent-small.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"225\" height=\"250\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/ultimate-sports-parent-small.jpg\" alt=\"The Ultimate Sports Parent\" class=\"wp-image-11157\" style=\"width:167px;height:auto\"\/><\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>Every day, we receive letters from parents like you who want their children and teens to excel in sports. However, these parents can <strong>see fear, doubt, and frustration on the faces of their kids<\/strong> who struggle with the \u201cinner\u201d game of sports. But these parents have no idea how to help their kids <strong>overcome the worries, expectations and self-defeating thoughts<\/strong> that prevent their young athletes from feeling confident and successful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You can benefit from our 1<strong>5-plus years\u2019 of work in sports psychology and sports parenting research<\/strong>. Now, you can <strong>tap into our secrets to sports success<\/strong> through a cutting-edge, 14-day program that helps young athletes overcome the top \u201cmental game\u201d challenges that sports parents face\u2014and the top <strong>challenges young athletes face<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"gb-container gb-container-fbab03ed\">\n\n<a class=\"gb-button gb-button-fa7bf2e7 gb-button-text\" href=\"https:\/\/www.peaksports.com\/ultimate-sports-parent-workbook-cd-program\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">GET DETAILS<\/a>\n\n\n\n<a class=\"gb-button gb-button-33bcee1d gb-button-text\" href=\"https:\/\/shop.peaksports.com\/products\/the-ultimate-sports-parent-digital\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">BUY NOW<\/a>\n\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Top 4 Sports Parents\u2019 Mistakes Lisa and Patrick Cohn here to tell you we\u2019re guilty&#8230; We\u2019ve committed some of the Top 4 Sports Parents\u2019 Mistakes, which we cover below. Even though we know the dangers of making these mistakes, when we\u2019re feeling especially excited for or worried about our sports &#8230; <a title=\"The Top 4 Pregame Mistakes Sports Parents Make\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/the-top-4-pregame-mistakes-sports-parents-make\/\" aria-label=\"Read more about The Top 4 Pregame Mistakes Sports Parents Make\">Read Sport Psychology Tip<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3807,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23,6],"tags":[200,201],"class_list":["post-1005","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports-kids","category-youth-sports-psychology-blog","tag-mistakes-sports-parents-make","tag-pregame-confidence-for-kids"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1005","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1005"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1005\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3807"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1005"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1005"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1005"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}