{"id":301,"date":"2009-11-19T21:53:45","date_gmt":"2009-11-19T21:53:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/?p=301"},"modified":"2025-08-08T01:26:54","modified_gmt":"2025-08-08T05:26:54","slug":"how-to-give-constructive-feedback-to-sports-kids","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/how-to-give-constructive-feedback-to-sports-kids\/","title":{"rendered":"How To Give Constructive Feedback to Sports Kids"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

It\u2019s no secret that many young athletes aren\u2019t very open to constructive feedback<\/strong> during games. That\u2019s because they often take it personally. They think that what you say about their performance as athletes reflects on them as people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What does this mean for you as parents and coaches?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s your job to make sure you give kids constructive criticism<\/strong> in ways that allow them to learn and grow from it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If, for example. you\u2019re a coach and you yell at kids from the sidelines every time they make a mistake, then yank them from the game, they won\u2019t necessarily learn and grow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In fact, they\u2019re likely to feel afraid of failing again, which will make them play tentatively<\/strong>. That\u2019s not what you want from your sports kids.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Youth sports parent and football coach James Jackson has a great idea about giving feedback to young athletes after they make mistakes. We recently interviewed him for our popular \u201cUltimate Sports Parent Radio\u201d show.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

First of all, Jackson lets kids and parents know at the beginning of the season how he handles mistakes. That way, there are no surprises.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When a young athlete makes a mistake in a game, he takes them out of the game, then tells them he wants them to chat with one of the other coaches to understand how they could better handle the situation. After the chat, he puts them back in the game, and gives them lots of praise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou want to give them the opportunity to go back and do it differently,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s not all coaches and parents can do when young athletes make mistakes.<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

After a loss, they should find some positive things to say about the game. Then they should wait at least a day before giving any constructive feedback<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In fact, coaches and parents should make sure that the ratio of positive to negative feedback is high: Say something positive about five times for every one time they give negative feedback<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Parents should avoid talking about the game in the car on the way home after a loss. Again, this only makes the young athlete feel bad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Want to learn more about how to be the best coaches and sports parents, and how to help young athletes make the most of their physical talent?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At Kids\u2019 Sports Psychology, members have access to lots of resources for doing just this. For example, if you\u2019re a member, you can download these and other e-books for free:<\/p>\n\n\n\n