{"id":1287,"date":"2011-07-06T23:07:26","date_gmt":"2011-07-06T23:07:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/?p=1287"},"modified":"2025-08-07T02:33:26","modified_gmt":"2025-08-07T06:33:26","slug":"how-sports-kids-can-overcome-adversity-like-champion-rory-mcilroy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/how-sports-kids-can-overcome-adversity-like-champion-rory-mcilroy\/","title":{"rendered":"How Kids Can Overcome Adversity like Champion Rory McIlroy"},"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\/2016\/12\/why-setting-goals-is-so-important-for-sports-kids.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"600\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/why-setting-goals-is-so-important-for-sports-kids.jpg\" alt=\"Youth Sports Psychology\" class=\"wp-image-3753\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/why-setting-goals-is-so-important-for-sports-kids.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/why-setting-goals-is-so-important-for-sports-kids-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=\"Rory_McIlroys_Mental_Game\"><\/span>Rory McIlroy&#8217;s Mental Game<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\/how-sports-kids-can-overcome-adversity-like-champion-rory-mcilroy\/#Rory_McIlroys_Mental_Game\" >Rory McIlroy&#8217;s Mental Game<\/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\/how-sports-kids-can-overcome-adversity-like-champion-rory-mcilroy\/#Youth_Mental_Game\" >Youth Mental Game<\/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\/how-sports-kids-can-overcome-adversity-like-champion-rory-mcilroy\/#Related_Articles_on_Kids_Mental_Game\" >Related Articles on Kids&#8217; Mental Game:<\/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\/how-sports-kids-can-overcome-adversity-like-champion-rory-mcilroy\/#The_Composed_Sports_Kid\" >The Composed Sports Kid<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n\n\n\n\n<p>US Open Champion Rory McIlroy\u2019s recent experiences demonstrate just how critical the <strong>mental game<\/strong> is to athletes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Golfer McIlroy had one of the worst days of his life in April. He shot a final round 80 at the 2011 Masters and blew a six-stroke final-round lead. Just two short months later, on June 19, he won the US Open and broke the 36-hole scoring record for the Open Championship. To make his comeback, McIlroy utilized critical mental game strategies to turn the Masters meltdown into a US Open triumph.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Blowing his 6-shot lead in the masters and losing that tournament could have zapped McIlroy\u2019s confidence. Instead, he converted the loss into <strong>motivation<\/strong> to win.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>McIlroy had the <strong>mental game<\/strong> smarts to avoid dwelling on his mistakes. As we\u2019ve said before, dwelling on mistakes only hurts athletes\u2019 <strong>confidence.<\/strong> If they dwell on their mistakes, they\u2019ll start playing to AVOID making more mistakes. This is not a good strategy. Players do best if they take risks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>McIlroy understood this important sports psychology lesson, and <strong>focused<\/strong> on the <strong>positives.<\/strong> He turned his big mistakes into even bigger character-building lessons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>\u201cI&#8217;ve got to take the <strong>positives,<\/strong> and the <strong>positives<\/strong> were I led this golf tournament for 63 holes,\u201d <\/em>said McIlroy in the pressroom after his final round at the Masters<em>. \u201cYou know, I&#8217;ll have plenty more chances. I know that.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Youth_Mental_Game\"><\/span>Youth Mental Game<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Not only did McIlroy <strong>focus<\/strong> on the <strong>positives<\/strong>, he turned his negative experience into a <strong>commitment<\/strong> to win.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>First, McIlroy\u2019s plan was to have a \u201cchip on his shoulder\u201d and feel cocky inside the ropes. <em>\u201cI needed to be a little more cocky, a little more arrogant on the golf course, and think a little bit more about myself, which I&#8217;ve tried to incorporate a little bit, just on the golf course,\u201d<\/em> said McIlroy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He also learned another important <strong>sports psychology<\/strong> lesson. Even though he\u2019s got a big lead in a tournament, he needs to continue being aggressive. It\u2019s not a good idea to play \u201cprotectively,\u201d or to play to ensure you don\u2019t lose what you\u2019ve gained. You need to stay on the offense and keep pushing forward. If you sit on your lead, you <strong>focus<\/strong> too much on what NOT to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>What\u2019s more, McIlroy <strong>focused<\/strong> on <strong>mini-goals<\/strong> or <strong>process<\/strong> <strong>goals<\/strong> to keep his mind off the score. This helped him stay in the moment instead of thinking about his score.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In addition to staying in the moment, athletes need to ensure they maintain <strong>confidence<\/strong> when trying to finish off a win, says Cohn. That\u2019s what McIlroy did.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>\u201cYou have to just go out there, work hard, and believe in yourself. As long as you believe in yourself and believe that you&#8217;re doing the right things, that&#8217;s all you can really do,\u201d<\/em> McIlroy said in the media center after his win.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you\u2019d like to learn more <strong>sports psychology<\/strong> strategies, check out Kids\u2019 Sports Psychology. Here are just a few of our resources:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Growing from <strong>Adversity:<\/strong> How to Stay <strong>Confident<\/strong> After Failure, an<br>e-book for sports kids<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Overcoming <strong>Adversity<\/strong> and Injury in Sports, an audio interview with Scott Smith, an internationally ranked US Figure skater.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Kids\u2019 Music Video: True Sports Stories of <strong>Commitment<\/strong> and Sacrifice, a music video<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Plus many more e-books, audio interviews, videos, and articles!<\/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_Kids_Mental_Game\"><\/span>Related Articles on Kids&#8217; Mental Game:<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\/how-sports-kids-can-overcome-pandemic-anxiety\/\"><strong>How Sports Kids Can Overcome Pandemic Anxiety<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/playing-through-adversity\/\" title=\"Playing Through Adversity\"><strong>Playing Through Adversity<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/help-sports-kids-grow-from-adversity\/\"><strong>Help Sports Kids Grow From Adversity<\/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 <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/0ynyaalKxbnNmsoeL8gF5X?si=8224669de9b3435b\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The Sports Psychology Podcast<\/a> <\/strong>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\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_Composed_Sports_Kid\"><\/span>The Composed Sports Kid<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"225\" height=\"250\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/03\/composed-sports-kid-small-1.jpg\" alt=\"The Composed Sports Kid\" class=\"wp-image-11173\" style=\"width:170px\"\/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>&#8220;The Composed Sports Kid&#8221; audio&nbsp;and workbook digital download program for young athletes and their parents or coach helps kids cope with frustration and anger in sports. Help your sports kids learn how to manage expectations and let go of mistakes so they can keep their head in the game.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em><strong>The Composed Sports Kid system<\/strong><\/em>&nbsp;is really two programs in one\u2013one program to train parents and coaches how to help their kids practice composure, and one program that teaches young athletes\u2013<em>ages 6 to 13<\/em>\u2013how to improve composure, let go of mistakes quickly, have more self-acceptance,&nbsp;<strong>and thus enjoy sports more<\/strong>!&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"gb-container gb-container-26bcd9b3\">\n\n<a class=\"gb-button gb-button-903b6244 gb-button-text\" href=\"https:\/\/www.peaksports.com\/the-confident-sports-kid-cd-program\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">GET DETAILS<\/a>\n\n\n\n<a class=\"gb-button gb-button-3275f4fd gb-button-text\" href=\"https:\/\/shop.peaksports.com\/collections\/confident-sports-kid-series-digital-version\/products\/the-confident-sports-kid-bundle-digital\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">BUY NOW<\/a>\n\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Rory McIlroy&#8217;s Mental Game US Open Champion Rory McIlroy\u2019s recent experiences demonstrate just how critical the mental game is to athletes. Golfer McIlroy had one of the worst days of his life in April. He shot a final round 80 at the 2011 Masters and blew a six-stroke final-round lead. &#8230; <a title=\"How Kids Can Overcome Adversity like Champion Rory McIlroy\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/how-sports-kids-can-overcome-adversity-like-champion-rory-mcilroy\/\" aria-label=\"Read more about How Kids Can Overcome Adversity like Champion Rory McIlroy\">Read Sport Psychology Tip<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3750,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[461,462],"class_list":["post-1287","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-youth-sports-psychology-blog","tag-how-sports-kids-can-overcome-adversity","tag-young-athletes-who-bounce-back","resize-featured-image"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1287","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=1287"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1287\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3750"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1287"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1287"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1287"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}