{"id":34,"date":"2008-01-18T03:41:00","date_gmt":"2008-01-18T03:41:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/?p=34"},"modified":"2025-08-08T06:03:49","modified_gmt":"2025-08-08T10:03:49","slug":"youth-sports-article-redefining-winning-for-young-athletes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/youth-sports-article-redefining-winning-for-young-athletes\/","title":{"rendered":"Redefining Winning for Young Athletes"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-3474\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/redefining-winning-for-young-athletes.jpg\" alt=\"Youth Sports Psychology\" width=\"600\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/redefining-winning-for-young-athletes.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/redefining-winning-for-young-athletes-300x150.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Changing_Sports_Kids_Focus\"><\/span>Changing Sports Kids&#8217; Focus<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\/youth-sports-article-redefining-winning-for-young-athletes\/#Changing_Sports_Kids_Focus\" >Changing Sports Kids&#8217; Focus<\/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\/youth-sports-article-redefining-winning-for-young-athletes\/#How_can_you_help_them_feel_like_winners\" >How can you help them feel like winners?<\/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\/youth-sports-article-redefining-winning-for-young-athletes\/#Focusing_on_manageable_objectives_or_small_easy-to-accomplish_goals\" >Focusing on manageable objectives or small, easy-to-accomplish goals.<\/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\/youth-sports-article-redefining-winning-for-young-athletes\/#Change_their_mindset\" >Change their mindset.<\/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\/youth-sports-article-redefining-winning-for-young-athletes\/#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-6\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/youth-sports-article-redefining-winning-for-young-athletes\/#Help_Your_Young_Athletes_Improve_Focus_In_Sports\" >Help Your Young Athletes Improve Focus In Sports!<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Young athletes want to feel like winners &#8211; whether or not they are always scoring and beating their opponents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><span style=\"font-family: arial;\">Sports parents can help their kids feel good about their experiences simply by taking the focus off the win.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><span style=\"font-family: arial;\">David Jacobson, a spokesman for the <em>Positive Coaching Alliance<\/em>, says his organization wants to re-define the term winning in ways that provide important benefits to young athletes. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em><span style=\"font-family: arial;\">&#8220;<\/span><span style=\"font-family: arial;\">Of course people want to win,&#8221;<\/span><\/em><span style=\"font-family: arial;\"> says Jacobson.&nbsp;<\/span><em><span style=\"font-family: arial;\">&#8216;&#8221;My organization advocates trying as hard as you can to win.&nbsp;<\/span><span style=\"font-family: arial;\">But there&#8217;s more going on than finishing with the highest score. There are so many educational opportunities. For example, if you can put forth maximum effort, you become a winner.<\/span>&nbsp;<\/em><span style=\"font-family: arial;\"><em>If coaches and sports parents can frame conversations in this fashion, kids don&#8217;t feel as nervous. They are more likely to feel <strong>successful<\/strong> and be <strong>successful,&#8221;<\/strong><\/em> he says.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><span style=\"font-family: arial;\">For example, let&#8217;s say your young athletes are outsized and outmatched.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_can_you_help_them_feel_like_winners\"><\/span><span style=\"font-family: arial;\">How can you help them feel like winners?<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><span style=\"font-family: arial;\"><em>&#8220;Ask them to go into the game against a formidable opponent with an eye toward <strong>succeeding<\/strong> in small ways,&#8221;<\/em> says Jacobson.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><span style=\"font-family: arial;\">Give young athletes specific objectives that help them attain excellence. For example, in soccer, a coach might ask kids to try to nab every loose ball.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Even if the final score is 5-0 and your team loses, if you&#8217;ve gotten to every loose ball, you&#8217;ve won a small victory that imparts <strong>confidence<\/strong> to kids!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In sports psychology, we call this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Focusing_on_manageable_objectives_or_small_easy-to-accomplish_goals\"><\/span>Focusing on manageable objectives or small, easy-to-accomplish goals.<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Coaches and parents should ask kids to do this to help them <strong>focus<\/strong> on effort, rather than outcome.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/\">kids are too focused on results and wins<\/a>, it&#8217;s a huge distraction. It&#8217;s harder for them to <strong>succeed<\/strong> and feel <strong>confident<\/strong>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<strong>focus<\/strong> on the things they need to do to execute well in the present moment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As a sports parent or youth coach, it&#8217;s your job to help kids identify and <strong>focus<\/strong> on mini-objectives. Ask them to try and get aim for two rebounds in basketball, or to <strong>focus<\/strong> on making four out of six quality shots on goal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Change_their_mindset\"><\/span>Change their mindset.<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Help them enjoy the game more by <strong>focusing<\/strong> on the process and the fun!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">You can also <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/\">help build&nbsp;kids&#8217; sports confidence and success<\/a> by consistently telling them mistakes are okay, says Jacobson.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>&#8220;You have to impart the notion that mistakes are okay. The greatest <strong>success<\/strong> occurs if you make mistakes. You can&#8217;t learn&#8211;or get to other side of envelope&#8211;if you don&#8217;t push yourself and make mistakes,&#8221;<\/em> he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For example, you&#8217;re not learning as an ice skater unless you&#8217;re falling down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Not only do you need to tell kids mistakes are okay. You need to reward them for making them and use them as a learning opportunity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>&#8220;You want them to keep trying to be aggressive and willing to push the outside of the envelope,&#8221;<\/em> he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>&#8220;Through <strong>positive<\/strong> reinforcement, tell the athlete at every turn, &#8216;You didn&#8217;t get the ball there, but you tried something new, and that&#8217;s a step in the right direction. Great work&#8217;,&#8221;<\/em> he explains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><span style=\"font-family: arial;\">Award winning parenting writer Lisa Cohn and Youth Sports Psychology expert Dr. Patrick Cohn are co-founders of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.peaksports.com\/ultimate-sports-parent-workbook-cd-program\/\">The Ultimate Sports Parent<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><span style=\"font-family: arial;\">Pick up their free e-book:<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\"><span style=\"font-family: arial;\"><strong>Ten Tips to Improve Confidence and Success in Young Athletes<\/strong><\/span><\/a><\/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\/parent-how-to-support-your-female-athlete\/\"><strong>Parent: How to Support your Female Athlete<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/how-playing-sports-can-help-kids-transition-to-reopening\/\"><strong>How Playing Sports Can Help Kids Transition to Reopening<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/how-the-mental-game-helps-elite-athletes-and-others\/\"><strong>How the Mental Game Helps Elite Athletes and Others<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" id=\"block-f49818fa-7c7a-4ee3-b5ee-66581aad2c71\">*Subscribe to<strong>\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/sports-psychology-podcast-by-peaksports-com\/id152566009\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The Sports Psychology Podcast<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>on 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-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-dots\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Help_Your_Young_Athletes_Improve_Focus_In_Sports\"><\/span>Help Your Young Athletes Improve Focus In Sports!<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/focused-sports-kid-small-7.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"225\" height=\"250\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/focused-sports-kid-small-7.jpg\" alt=\"the Focused Sports Kid\" class=\"wp-image-11217\"\/><\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Are your young athletes easily <strong>distracted<\/strong> by people shouting on the sidelines? Do they obsess over their <strong>mistakes<\/strong>? Do they <strong>worry<\/strong> about what people think of them?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">These issues will cause their concentration and performance to suffer!<a href=\"https:\/\/www.peaksports.com\/the-focused-sports-kid-cd-program\/\">The Focused Sports Kid<\/a> helps kids overcome distractions that can hurt their performance in sports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.peaksports.com\/the-focused-sports-kid-cd-program\/\">The Focused Sports Kid<\/a> program is actually two programs: one for sports parents\/coaches that provides mental game tips especially designed for parents and coaches, and for young athletes, ages 8 to 12, that will walk them through 7 simple lessons in mental focus in sports.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"gb-container gb-container-2050113d\">\n\n<a class=\"gb-button gb-button-030447a4 gb-button-text\" href=\"https:\/\/www.peaksports.com\/the-focused-sports-kid-cd-program\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">GET DETAILS<\/a>\n\n\n\n<a class=\"gb-button gb-button-af59ca3f gb-button-text\" href=\"https:\/\/shop.peaksports.com\/products\/the-focused-sports-kid-digital\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">BUY NOW<\/a>\n\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Changing Sports Kids&#8217; Focus Young athletes want to feel like winners &#8211; whether or not they are always scoring and beating their opponents. Sports parents can help their kids feel good about their experiences simply by taking the focus off the win. David Jacobson, a spokesman for the Positive Coaching &#8230; <a title=\"Redefining Winning for Young Athletes\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/youth-sports-article-redefining-winning-for-young-athletes\/\" aria-label=\"Read more about Redefining Winning for Young Athletes\">Read Sport Psychology Tip<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3475,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19,23,7,3,25,6],"tags":[173,327,262,326,117],"class_list":["post-34","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pressure-in-sports","category-sports-kids","category-sports-psychology-for-kids","category-youth-sports","category-youth-sports-coach","category-youth-sports-psychology-blog","tag-tips-for-sports-parents","tag-winning-in-youth-sports","tag-youth-sports-coaching","tag-youth-sports-article","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\/34","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=34"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3475"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}