{"id":11080,"date":"2024-03-21T06:20:11","date_gmt":"2024-03-21T10:20:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/?p=11080"},"modified":"2025-07-07T08:40:30","modified_gmt":"2025-07-07T12:40:30","slug":"top-challenges-for-sport-parents-and-youth-athletes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/top-challenges-for-sport-parents-and-youth-athletes\/","title":{"rendered":"Top Challenges for Sport Parents and Youth Athletes\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/sports-tips-for-youth-and-parents.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"600\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/sports-tips-for-youth-and-parents.jpg\" alt=\"Top Challenges for Sport Parents and Youth Athletes\u00a0\" class=\"wp-image-11082\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/sports-tips-for-youth-and-parents.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/sports-tips-for-youth-and-parents-300x150.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_to_Handled_Challenges_with_Youth_Athletes\"><\/span>How to Handled Challenges with Youth Athletes<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2><div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_82_2 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\/top-challenges-for-sport-parents-and-youth-athletes\/#How_to_Handled_Challenges_with_Youth_Athletes\" >How to Handled Challenges with Youth Athletes<\/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\/top-challenges-for-sport-parents-and-youth-athletes\/#The_top_4_challenges_for_sports_parents_are_the_following\" >The top 4 challenges for sports parents are the following:<\/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\/top-challenges-for-sport-parents-and-youth-athletes\/#The_tops_4_challenges_for_their_athletes_include_the_following\" >The tops 4 challenges for their athletes include the following:<\/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\/top-challenges-for-sport-parents-and-youth-athletes\/#We_provide_3_important_tools_for_sports_parents_to_improve_their_athletes_experience_These_include\" >We provide 3 important tools for sports parents to improve their athletes&#8217; experience. These include:<\/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\/top-challenges-for-sport-parents-and-youth-athletes\/#Related_Kids_Sports_Psychology_Articles\" >Related Kids Sports Psychology Articles:<\/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\/top-challenges-for-sport-parents-and-youth-athletes\/#Helping_Perfectionist_Young_Athletes\" >Helping Perfectionist Young Athletes<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n\n\n\n\n<p>At Peak Performance Sports, we&#8217;re contacted everyday by sports parents wanting us to work with their young athletes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>They are often looking for resources or coaching to improve their athletes mental game and performance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In some cases, sports parents contact us because they realize they are putting too much pressure on their kids and want us to help them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We\u2019ve survey over 3000 sports parents asking them what their biggest <strong>challenges<\/strong> are as sports parents&#8211;and what they think are the mental game <strong>challenges<\/strong> for their young athletes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here are the results of the survey:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_top_4_challenges_for_sports_parents_are_the_following\"><\/span><strong>The top 4 challenges for sports parents are the following:<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Understanding how to help their young athlete get the most out of his or her talent <strong>without pressuring them<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Understanding how to <strong>approach<\/strong> their young athletes about improving performance.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Figuring out <strong>how to identify<\/strong> when their young athlete is struggling with the mental game of sports.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Helping their young athletes be more <strong>competitive<\/strong> or aggressive in sports.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_tops_4_challenges_for_their_athletes_include_the_following\"><\/span><strong>The tops 4 challenges for their athletes include the following:<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Struggling with <strong>doubts<\/strong> and <strong>negative<\/strong> thoughts about their performance.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Having trouble <strong>letting go of mistakes<\/strong> and becoming easily frustrated or angry.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Worrying<\/strong> too much about what others (coach, parents, friends) think about their game&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Performing <strong>tentatively<\/strong> or lack <strong>assertiveness<\/strong> against skilled players.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>As a mental coaching who has worked with many sports parents over the last 30 plus years, I&#8217;ve (Dr. Cohn) learned that sports parents can be either a positive or negative influence on their athletes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Many sport parents have a positive impact on their athletes\u2019 mindset for sports&#8230; Sports parents can:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Instill <strong>confidence<\/strong> in their athletes.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Help them focus on what\u2019s <strong>important<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Help athletes learn <strong>life skills<\/strong> through sports.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Teach athletes how to <strong>cope with failure.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Are <strong>positive<\/strong> on the sidelines and post-game.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>However, some sport parents can have a negative impact on their athletes\u2019 mindset. Sports parents can:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Place high <strong>expectations<\/strong> on their kids.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Focus too much on <strong>mistakes<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Instill <strong>perfectionism<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Make kids feel like they are <strong>not good enough<\/strong> when they perform.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Can trigger lack of <strong>composure<\/strong> in their athletes.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>For these reasons, we work closely with athletes\u2019 parents to make sure that they are a positive influence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"We_provide_3_important_tools_for_sports_parents_to_improve_their_athletes_experience_These_include\"><\/span>We provide 3 important tools for sports parents to improve their athletes&#8217; experience. These include:<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>A test to assess sports parents&#8217; support of their athletes&#8217; mental game.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Pregame behavior tips for sports parents.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Post-game behavior tips for sports parents.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>If your athletes can benefit from one-on-one coaching, please contact my team at Peak Performance Sports. We help athletes&#8211;all over the world&#8211;improve their mindset for sports by meeting on Zoom or Facetime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And as a sports parent or coach, you&#8217;ll receive tools and coaching to help improve your communication with their athletes.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you want to give your athletes the mental game edge or improve your communication with athletes, please contact my team at Peak Performance Sports.<\/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_Kids_Sports_Psychology_Articles\"><\/span>Related Kids Sports Psychology Articles:<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\/success-tips-for-parents-kids-who-stop-trying\/\"><strong>Success Tips for Parents: Kids Who Stop Trying<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/parents-should-show-sports-kids-they-care-about-more-than-the-win\/\">Parents Should Show Sports Kids They Care About More than the Win<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/the-mental-game-challenges-of-injuries-in-youth-sports\/\"><strong>The Mental Game Challenges of Injuries in Youth Sports<\/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-css-opacity is-style-dots\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Helping_Perfectionist_Young_Athletes\"><\/span>Helping Perfectionist Young Athletes<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Now, you can learn how to help young athletes&nbsp;<strong>overcome the difficult cycle of perfectionism<\/strong>, fear of failure and loss of confidence. You can stop guessing about what to do and say to your athlete!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As an active sports mom and parenting author, I\u2019ve asked my brother, a&nbsp;<strong>sports psychology expert&nbsp;<\/strong>who had helped his students with these same challenges for over 15 years, to help me develop a program for young athletes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Our program: \u201c<em><strong>Sports Parents\u2019 Top Dilemma: Helping Young Athletes Kick Perfectionism and Fear of Failure,<\/strong><\/em>\u201d will walk you through the problem and arm you with practical solutions you can start implementing today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You\u2019ll start seeing changes in your young athlete\u2019s confidence almost immediately.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-content-justification-center is-layout-flex wp-container-core-buttons-is-layout-16018d1d wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link has-text-align-center wp-element-button\">Get Details<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>How to Handled Challenges with Youth Athletes At Peak Performance Sports, we&#8217;re contacted everyday by sports parents wanting us to work with their young athletes. They are often looking for resources or coaching to improve their athletes mental game and performance. In some cases, sports parents contact us because they &#8230; <a title=\"Top Challenges for Sport Parents and Youth Athletes\u00a0\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/top-challenges-for-sport-parents-and-youth-athletes\/\" aria-label=\"Read more about Top Challenges for Sport Parents and Youth Athletes\u00a0\">Read Sport Psychology Tip<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11081,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[611,312],"class_list":["post-11080","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-youth-sports-psychology-blog","tag-parental-pressure","tag-parents-and-communication"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11080","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=11080"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11080\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11081"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11080"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11080"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11080"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}