{"id":28,"date":"2007-09-17T20:55:00","date_gmt":"2007-09-17T20:55:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/?p=28"},"modified":"2025-08-11T02:38:25","modified_gmt":"2025-08-11T06:38:25","slug":"helping-young-athletes-trust-in-their-skills","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/helping-young-athletes-trust-in-their-skills\/","title":{"rendered":"Helping Young Athletes Trust in Their Skills"},"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\/2016\/11\/helping-young-athletes-trust-in-their-skills.jpg\" alt=\"Youth Sports Psychology\" class=\"wp-image-3477\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/helping-young-athletes-trust-in-their-skills.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/helping-young-athletes-trust-in-their-skills-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=\"Performing_With_Trust_And_Freedom_in_Youth_Sports\"><\/span>Performing With Trust And Freedom in Youth Sports<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\/helping-young-athletes-trust-in-their-skills\/#Performing_With_Trust_And_Freedom_in_Youth_Sports\" >Performing With Trust And Freedom in Youth Sports<\/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\/helping-young-athletes-trust-in-their-skills\/#_All_young_athletes_face_a_lack_of_trust_and_confidence_in_their_skills_from_time_to_time\" >&nbsp;All young athletes face a lack of trust and confidence in their skills from time to time.<\/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\/helping-young-athletes-trust-in-their-skills\/#Why_should_kids_trust_in_their_skills_and_abilities\" >Why should kids trust in their skills and abilities?<\/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\/helping-young-athletes-trust-in-their-skills\/#Do_you\" >Do you:<\/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\/helping-young-athletes-trust-in-their-skills\/#Instead_you_need_to\" >Instead, you need to:<\/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\/helping-young-athletes-trust-in-their-skills\/#Youll_learn_how_to\" >You&#8217;ll learn how to:<\/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\/helping-young-athletes-trust-in-their-skills\/#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-8\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/helping-young-athletes-trust-in-their-skills\/#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>Do your sports kids excel in practice, but freeze up in competition?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Do they have a hard time just being spontaneous and free when they compete?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If so, you might need to help your child <strong>trust<\/strong> his or her athletic ability&#8230;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.peaksports.com\/ultimate-sports-parent-workbook-cd-program\/\">Freezing up in competition<\/a>&nbsp;is a common challenge for young athletes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Some kids and teens love to practice and improve, but when it comes to competing, they suddenly don&#8217;t <strong>trust<\/strong> in their own skills and or have <strong>confidence<\/strong> in their abilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"_All_young_athletes_face_a_lack_of_trust_and_confidence_in_their_skills_from_time_to_time\"><\/span>&nbsp;All young athletes face a lack of trust and confidence in their skills from time to time.<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Maybe they&#8217;re new to a particular sport&#8230;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Maybe they&#8217;re trying to learn a brand new skill and haven&#8217;t quite gotten it yet&#8230;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Perhaps they&#8217;re <strong>perfectionists<\/strong> and feel that their performance isn&#8217;t &#8220;perfect&#8221;\u009denough&#8230;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>They may also be afraid of making mistakes, so they play or compete tentatively&#8230;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Why_should_kids_trust_in_their_skills_and_abilities\"><\/span>Why should kids trust in their skills and abilities?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>If they <strong>believe<\/strong> in their ability to execute a skill <strong>successfully,<\/strong> they&#8217;ll feel more <strong>confident.<\/strong> And more <strong>confidence<\/strong> will lead to more <strong>trust.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That&#8217;s crucial to <strong>success<\/strong> and happiness in sports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In order to <strong>trust,<\/strong> athletes need to let go of conscious control of their motor skills, for example. They must be able to perform spontaneously and intuitively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As parents and coaches, there&#8217;s lots you can do to help young athletes learn to compete with trust and freedom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>First of all, look at your own behavior.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Do_you\"><\/span><strong>Do you:<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Ask your child to focus on proper or perfect form during the game?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Encourage your child to try to be perfect when performing?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Over coach your child right before game time?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Introduce a different method than the coach&#8217;s and confuse your child?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Instead_you_need_to\"><\/span><strong>Instead, you need to:<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Help your young athletes leave practice on the practice field, and learn to trust in their abilities.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Help them switch into an athletic, &#8220;let it happen&#8221; <strong>mindset<\/strong> in competition. Tell them to react intuitively, to keep it simple: See the ball and hit it.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Help them think of ways to perform in the here-and-now. How can they get the job done without worrying about or analyzing how to get the job done?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Help them accept that they can&#8217;t perform perfectly.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>Want to learn more about how to help kids improve their performance, <strong>trust<\/strong> and <strong>confidence?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Check out our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/\">Ultimate Sports Parent<\/a> workbook\/CD program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Youll_learn_how_to\"><\/span><strong>You&#8217;ll learn how to:<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Instill a <strong>confident mindset<\/strong> in your young athletes<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Help kids deal with competitive pressure<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Help kids <strong>trust<\/strong> their skills on game day<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Help young athletes set goals<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Guide sports kids who are dealing with difficult feelings and much more!<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Hop over to our web site to snag your copy:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.peaksports.com\/ultimate-sports-parent-workbook-cd-program\/\">Peak Performance Sports<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>P.S. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/\">The Ultimate Sports Parent workbook program <\/a>comes with a neat bonus that helps parents act and say the right things before a game or competition.<\/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\/help-athletes-trust-the-training\/\"><strong>Help Athletes Trust the Training<\/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\"><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/helping-athletes-improve-trust-in-skills\/\"><strong>Helping Athletes Improve Trust in Skills<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/young-athletes-must-trust-the-grind\/\"><strong>Young Athletes Must \u2018Trust the Grind\u2019<\/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>Performing With Trust And Freedom in Youth Sports Do your sports kids excel in practice, but freeze up in competition? Do they have a hard time just being spontaneous and free when they compete? If so, you might need to help your child trust his or her athletic ability&#8230; Freezing &#8230; <a title=\"Helping Young Athletes Trust in Their Skills\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/helping-young-athletes-trust-in-their-skills\/\" aria-label=\"Read more about Helping Young Athletes Trust in Their Skills\">Read Sport Psychology Tip<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3476,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,5,10,4,3,6],"tags":[173,325,117],"class_list":["post-28","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-freezing-in-competition","category-kids-in-sports","category-not-trusting-physical-skills","category-sports-psychology-for-sports-parents","category-youth-sports","category-youth-sports-psychology-blog","tag-tips-for-sports-parents","tag-trust-in-youth-sports","tag-youth-sports-psychology","resize-featured-image"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28","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=28"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3476"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}