{"id":4959,"date":"2018-07-25T20:29:41","date_gmt":"2018-07-25T20:29:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/?p=4959"},"modified":"2025-07-10T06:39:51","modified_gmt":"2025-07-10T10:39:51","slug":"injuries-and-self-image-in-youth-sports","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/injuries-and-self-image-in-youth-sports\/","title":{"rendered":"Injuries and Self-Image in Youth Sports"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_Injuries_Can_Affect_Self-Image\"><\/span>How Injuries Can Affect Self-Image<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2><div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_82_2 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\/injuries-and-self-image-in-youth-sports\/#How_Injuries_Can_Affect_Self-Image\" >How Injuries Can Affect Self-Image<\/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\/injuries-and-self-image-in-youth-sports\/#Here_at_Kids_Sports_Psychology_we_agree%E2%80%A6\" >Here at Kids\u2019 Sports Psychology, we agree&#8230;<\/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\/injuries-and-self-image-in-youth-sports\/#You_can_listen_to_Worthys_interview_here\" >You can listen to Worthy\u2019s interview here:<\/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\/injuries-and-self-image-in-youth-sports\/#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-5\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/injuries-and-self-image-in-youth-sports\/#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><strong>Injuries<\/strong> and lack of rest are among the many <strong>confidence killers<\/strong> in youth sports, says Dr. Shawn Worthy, Metropolitan State University of Denver professor and clinical psychologist who specializes in sports and adolescent psychology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>They can prompt kids to feel <strong>burned out<\/strong> and to quit altogether.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>&#8220;My daughter was a gymnast first and actually injured out of gymnastics at age 11. When young people are injured, they can have real issues with it, because of a lot of time they have their entire self-image tied to their athletic performance,&#8221;<\/em> he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When your sports kids\u2019 whole <strong>self-image<\/strong> is tied to athletic performance, they often deal with substantial psychological consequences and <strong>lowered confidence<\/strong> if they <strong>under perform, burnout,<\/strong> or <strong>get injured,<\/strong> he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That\u2019s why it\u2019s critical to help sports kids develop interests outside of sports, he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Here_at_Kids_Sports_Psychology_we_agree%E2%80%A6\"><\/span>Here at<strong> Kids\u2019 Sports Psychology,<\/strong> we agree&#8230;<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s important for kids to separate their self-worth from their performance and it\u2019s critical for parents to remind kids that their <strong>self-image<\/strong> should not be tied to how well they perform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>&#8220;Whenever people ask me how to talk to kids about this, the answer is always, &#8216;It depends on how old they are,'&#8221; <\/em>says Worthy.<em> &#8220;But in general, you want to praise them for other things, other activities and achievements in their life.&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In addition, Worthy stresses the need for sports kids to get the rest necessary to recuperate fully.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>&#8220;We have these 12- to 14-year-olds who have overuse injuries because they are specializing and making these movements all the time,&#8221;<\/em> he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In part because kids do develop over-use injuries, Worthy doesn\u2019t think kids should play or perform year-round.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>&#8220;Young people need an off period, a month or two months preferably, where the kid doesn&#8217;t need to play a sport.&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>&#8220;Too often, kids play all year round, and they need the rest to <strong>destress<\/strong> from the competition. I knew a young tennis player who went to play at Stanford and after a year he just completely burned out.&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, parents can prevent such burnout by stepping in and giving kids some perspective about what may happen if they play year-round, he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>&#8220;There are some situations where parents have to lead. My role as a parent is to see future things that my child can\u2019t see. So we have to step up sometimes and ask our kids, &#8216;Is it time for a rest?&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>&#8220;Is it time you don&#8217;t do this anymore?&#8217; As parents, we have to sometimes&#8230; make some difficult decision for our children&#8217;s health, and I think sometimes parents abdicate that responsibility.&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"You_can_listen_to_Worthys_interview_here\"><\/span>You can listen to Worthy\u2019s interview here:<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-embed-handler wp-block-embed-embed-handler\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<audio class=\"wp-audio-shortcode\" id=\"audio-4959-1\" preload=\"none\" style=\"width: 100%;\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"audio\/mpeg\" src=\"https:\/\/lisacohn.audioacrobat.com\/download\/lisacohn-20180718161302-6329.mp3?_=1\" \/><a href=\"https:\/\/lisacohn.audioacrobat.com\/download\/lisacohn-20180718161302-6329.mp3\">https:\/\/lisacohn.audioacrobat.com\/download\/lisacohn-20180718161302-6329.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n<\/div><\/figure>\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-overuse-injuries-affect-athletes-mindset\/\"><strong>How Overuse Injuries Affect Athletes\u2019 Mindset<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/injuries-and-self-image-in-youth-sports\/\"><strong>Injuries and Self-Image in Youth Sports<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/coping-with-the-mental-side-of-sports-injuries-in-kids\/\"><strong>Coping With The Mental Side of Sports Injuries in Kids<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p 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><\/strong>\u00a0on 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-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 Coaching!<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>How Injuries Can Affect Self-Image Injuries and lack of rest are among the many confidence killers in youth sports, says Dr. Shawn Worthy, Metropolitan State University of Denver professor and clinical psychologist who specializes in sports and adolescent psychology. They can prompt kids to feel burned out and to quit &#8230; <a title=\"Injuries and Self-Image in Youth Sports\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/injuries-and-self-image-in-youth-sports\/\" aria-label=\"Read more about Injuries and Self-Image in Youth Sports\">Read Sport Psychology Tip<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3780,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[617,629],"class_list":["post-4959","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports-parent-podcast","tag-injury-in-youth-sports","tag-self-image-in-youth-sports"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4959","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=4959"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4959\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3780"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4959"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4959"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4959"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}