{"id":4888,"date":"2018-04-20T17:36:25","date_gmt":"2018-04-20T17:36:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/?p=4888"},"modified":"2025-07-10T06:59:58","modified_gmt":"2025-07-10T10:59:58","slug":"when-athletes-compare-themselves-to-others","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/when-athletes-compare-themselves-to-others\/","title":{"rendered":"When Athletes Compare Themselves to Others"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-4893\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/when-athletes-compare-themselves-to-others.jpg\" alt=\"When Athletes Compare Themselves to Others\" width=\"600\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/when-athletes-compare-themselves-to-others.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/when-athletes-compare-themselves-to-others-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=\"Helping_Young_Athletes_Focus_On_Their_Talents\"><\/span>Helping Young Athletes Focus On Their Talents<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\/when-athletes-compare-themselves-to-others\/#Helping_Young_Athletes_Focus_On_Their_Talents\" >Helping Young Athletes Focus On Their Talents<\/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\/when-athletes-compare-themselves-to-others\/#He_makes_too_many_comparisons_to_teammates_and_competitors\" >He makes too many comparisons to teammates and competitors.<\/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\/when-athletes-compare-themselves-to-others\/#In_order_to_be_confident_athletes_they_shouldnt_dwell_on_others_success_or_abilities%E2%80%A6\" >In order to be confident athletes, they shouldn\u2019t dwell on others&#8217; success or abilities&#8230;.<\/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\/when-athletes-compare-themselves-to-others\/#Remind_them_of_their_unique_talents_just_before_games\" >Remind them of their unique talents just before games.<\/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\/when-athletes-compare-themselves-to-others\/#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\/when-athletes-compare-themselves-to-others\/#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><strong>A sports parent says:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>&#8220;My son is very tentative when playing basketball. He always has his eye on what others are doing\u2014his teammates and his opponents. How can we help him play with more confidence?&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>This young athlete likely struggles with a common mental-game challenge:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"He_makes_too_many_comparisons_to_teammates_and_competitors\"><\/span>He makes too many comparisons to teammates and competitors.<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s pretty natural for sports kids to compare their performance to others, but it becomes a problem when these <strong>comparisons<\/strong> start hurting kids\u2019 <strong>confidence<\/strong> and performance&#8230;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When kids compare themselves to others, they can feel <strong>jealous<\/strong> of their teammates and competitors. This can cause friction in a team and also distract your sports kids, who will <strong>focus<\/strong> more on how much praise another player got, instead of on their own performance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In addition, when sports kids <strong>focus<\/strong> on others\u2019 strengths, they\u2019re not focusing on their own. <strong>Concentrating<\/strong> on others\u2019 strengths will make your young athletes put others on a pedestal, and feel small in comparison.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It makes it hard for kids to <strong>focus<\/strong> on what they need to <strong>focus<\/strong> on, stay in the moment, and play freely and <strong>intuitively.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If your sports kids are comparing themselves to others, first find out if your children are feeling intimidated by other potentially higher-performing players. Talk to them about the effects of these thoughts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While they\u2019re thinking about others\u2019 strengths, they\u2019re also thinking about their own weaknesses, in comparison.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"In_order_to_be_confident_athletes_they_shouldnt_dwell_on_others_success_or_abilities%E2%80%A6\"><\/span>In order to be confident athletes, they shouldn\u2019t dwell on others&#8217; success or abilities&#8230;.<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>And its often easy as parents to compare your athletes to other athletes in the hopes that it <strong>motivates<\/strong> them to improve or strive to be better.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But comparing them to other stronger athletes can backfire!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Instead, you want your kids to focus on their own unique talents and abilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>What are their best moments as players?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Remind_them_of_their_unique_talents_just_before_games\"><\/span>Remind them of their unique talents just before games.<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The goal is to help your kids become <strong>confident<\/strong> players who recognize good players and are excited to test their own skill against them without fear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>In essence, encourage your kids to put their focus where it should be:<\/strong> on themselves and their game!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Help your kids focus better with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.peaksports.com\/the-focused-sports-kid-cd-program\/\"><strong>The Focused Sports Kid program<\/strong><\/a>. Learn more:<\/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\/why-young-athletes-shouldnt-compare-themselves-to-others\/\"><strong>Why Young Athletes Shouldn\u2019t Compare Themselves to Others<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/why-young-athletes-shouldnt-compare-their-skills-to-others\/\"><strong>Why Young Athletes Shouldn\u2019t Compare Their Skills To Others<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/help-sports-kids-turn-comparisons-into-growth-comradery\/\"><strong>Help Sports Kids Turn Comparisons into Growth &amp; Comradery<\/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_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 is-resized\"><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\" style=\"width:168px\"\/><\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>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>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><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>Helping Young Athletes Focus On Their Talents A sports parent says: &#8220;My son is very tentative when playing basketball. He always has his eye on what others are doing\u2014his teammates and his opponents. How can we help him play with more confidence?&#8221; This young athlete likely struggles with a common &#8230; <a title=\"When Athletes Compare Themselves to Others\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/when-athletes-compare-themselves-to-others\/\" aria-label=\"Read more about When Athletes Compare Themselves to Others\">Read Sport Psychology Tip<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4892,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[309,310],"class_list":["post-4888","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-youth-sports-psychology-blog","tag-confidence-in-youth-sports","tag-focus-in-youth-sports"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4888","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=4888"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4888\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4892"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4888"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4888"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4888"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}