{"id":4462,"date":"2017-05-26T13:52:05","date_gmt":"2017-05-26T13:52:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/?p=4462"},"modified":"2025-08-11T04:47:26","modified_gmt":"2025-08-11T08:47:26","slug":"how-to-tap-into-your-athletes-personal-motives-for-sports-participation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/how-to-tap-into-your-athletes-personal-motives-for-sports-participation\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Tap into Your Athletes&#8217; Personal Motives for Sports Participation"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"600\" height=\"300\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-4465\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/how-to-tap-into-your-athletes-personal-motives-for-sports-participation.jpg\" alt=\"Motivating Sports Kids\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/how-to-tap-into-your-athletes-personal-motives-for-sports-participation.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/how-to-tap-into-your-athletes-personal-motives-for-sports-participation-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=\"Motivating_Young_Athletes_Without_Pressuring_Them\"><\/span>Motivating Young Athletes Without Pressuring Them<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-to-tap-into-your-athletes-personal-motives-for-sports-participation\/#Motivating_Young_Athletes_Without_Pressuring_Them\" >Motivating Young Athletes Without Pressuring Them<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-4' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-4'><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-4' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-4'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/how-to-tap-into-your-athletes-personal-motives-for-sports-participation\/#Motivated_athletes\" >Motivated athletes:<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/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-to-tap-into-your-athletes-personal-motives-for-sports-participation\/#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-to-tap-into-your-athletes-personal-motives-for-sports-participation\/#Improve_Your_Mental_Game_From_Anywhere_In_The_World\" >Improve Your Mental Game From Anywhere In The World<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n\n\n\n\n<p>In our survey of more than 3,000 sports parents, the top challenge cited by parents of young athletes is this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>How can I help my kids get the most of out sports <strong>without pressuring them?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the survey, 68.7 percent of respondents named this issue as a challenge, and that makes sense. It\u2019s not always easy helping your kids make the most of an experience without <strong>pressuring<\/strong> them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here at Kids\u2019 Sports Psychology and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/\">Youth Sports Psychology<\/a>, we suggest how you can take the <strong>pressure<\/strong> off your kids. But it&#8217;s not easy&#8230;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When kids participate for you and not for themselves, their <strong>motivation<\/strong> comes from external factors, not from within.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>What\u2019s more, when sports kids feel <strong>pressured<\/strong> from others via expectations, they often pressure themselves, and then get frustrated when they don\u2019t perform well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The first step to helping your sports kids get the most out of sports is to know why gets kids are <strong>motivated.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Motivated_athletes\"><\/span>Motivated athletes:<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Love to practice and compete<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Enjoy working on their weaknesses so they can improve<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Get excited about competition<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Want to win<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Love to be with friends<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Stay committed even after adversity<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Pursue their goals with commitment<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Kids are generally <strong>motivated<\/strong> to play sports to be with friends or part of a group, to experience the excitement of competition, to learn and improve their skills, to improve their physical fitness or experience a &#8220;flow&#8221; or feeling of enjoyment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To help your kids feel <strong>motivated<\/strong> from within, you&#8217;ll want to tap into why they\u2019re playing. Is it one of the above reasons?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When you\u2019re talking to them about playing or performing, keep their personal motivations in mind, which might be different from yours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Don\u2019t say, <em>&#8220;I want you to have a great game today to impress Uncle Bob.&#8221;<\/em> Instead, you might say, <em>&#8220;I\u2019ll bet you\u2019re looking forward to playing next to your best friend today.&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Next, <strong>focus<\/strong> on your young athletes\u2019 small improvements. For example, golfers can learn simple tasks such as improving their touch on the putting green.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Soccer players might <strong>focus<\/strong> on making solid passes to teammates. These small improvements will help young athletes feel <strong>successful.<\/strong><\/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-participating-in-sports-gives-kids-an-edge-in-life\/\"><strong>How Participating in Sports Gives Kids an Edge in Life<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/addressing-anxiety-mistakes-and-low-confidence-in-youth-sports\/\"><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/how-to-keep-kids-in-sports\/\"><strong>How to Keep Kids in Sports<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/concussions-impact-on-the-mental-game-of-sports\/\"><strong>Concussions Impact on The Mental Game of Sports<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"block-f49818fa-7c7a-4ee3-b5ee-66581aad2c71\">*Subscribe to\u00a0<strong><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 <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\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Improve_Your_Mental_Game_From_Anywhere_In_The_World\"><\/span><strong>Improve Your Mental Game From Anywhere In The World<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/mental-training-for-young-athletes.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-6868\" style=\"width:138px;height:auto\"\/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>We\u2019re certain that, as a parent,&nbsp;you want to help your child develop confidence and discipline in sports and life.&nbsp;And as a sports parent, you\u2019d love for your children to reach their potential in sports.&nbsp;But encouraging your child to <strong>strive for greatness without pressuring them<\/strong> can be a challenge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You can get expert mental coaching with us from anywhere. Meet with us via Zoom, Skype, FaceTime or phone call. With today\u2019s video technology, we are able to connect with athletes and coaches all over the globe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>Call Us Today to Schedule Your Free 15-Minute Session.<\/strong><br><strong>Find Out How Your Athlete Can Benefit From One-on-One Mental Training<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Motivating Young Athletes Without Pressuring Them In our survey of more than 3,000 sports parents, the top challenge cited by parents of young athletes is this: How can I help my kids get the most of out sports without pressuring them? In the survey, 68.7 percent of respondents named this &#8230; <a title=\"How to Tap into Your Athletes&#8217; Personal Motives for Sports Participation\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/how-to-tap-into-your-athletes-personal-motives-for-sports-participation\/\" aria-label=\"Read more about How to Tap into Your Athletes&#8217; Personal Motives for Sports Participation\">Read Sport Psychology Tip<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4464,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,160,35,19,17,6],"tags":[459,96],"class_list":["post-4462","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-kids-in-sports","category-kids-motivation-in-sports","category-pressure-from-parents","category-pressure-in-sports","category-sports-parenting","category-youth-sports-psychology-blog","tag-motivation-in-youth-sports","tag-pressure-from-sports-parents"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4462","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=4462"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4462\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4464"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4462"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4462"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4462"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}