{"id":51,"date":"2008-03-25T12:50:33","date_gmt":"2008-03-25T12:50:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/?p=51"},"modified":"2025-08-08T05:44:09","modified_gmt":"2025-08-08T09:44:09","slug":"the-importance-of-positive-feedback-for-young-athletes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/the-importance-of-positive-feedback-for-young-athletes\/","title":{"rendered":"The Importance of Positive Feedback for Young Athletes"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/youth-sports-mindset.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"600\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/youth-sports-mindset.jpg\" alt=\"How Choking Hurts Athletes\u2019 Performance\u00a0\" class=\"wp-image-9099\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/youth-sports-mindset.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/youth-sports-mindset-300x150.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Rewarding_Positive_Behavior_in_Youth_Sports\"><\/span>Rewarding Positive Behavior in Youth Sports<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\/the-importance-of-positive-feedback-for-young-athletes\/#Rewarding_Positive_Behavior_in_Youth_Sports\" >Rewarding Positive Behavior in Youth Sports<\/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\/the-importance-of-positive-feedback-for-young-athletes\/#In_sports_psychology_terms_this_is_what_we_call_rewarding_positive_behavior\" >In sports psychology terms, this is what we call rewarding positive behavior.<\/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\/the-importance-of-positive-feedback-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-4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/the-importance-of-positive-feedback-for-young-athletes\/#Help_Young_Athletes_Boost_Confidence_in_Sports\" >Help Young Athletes Boost Confidence in Sports!<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Just how important is giving positive feedback to young athletes?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For our Ultimate Sports Parent Radio show, we recently checked in with baseball coach Rob Gelphman about this topic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He says giving kids compliments, especially for making small achievements, like fielding a ground ball, is key to boosting kids&#8217; <strong>confidence.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>&#8220;What you&#8217;re always trying to teach the kids is to play the complete game&#8211;both sides of the ball. What you want to do is show them that making little plays and always backing up is very important,&#8221;<\/em> says Gelphman.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>&#8220;It teaches them to start thinking about the game the whole time. When someone makes a great play-if they field a grounder, for example, and get their body in front of it and stop the ball-I say loudly, \u2018Great job!&#8217; And I make a point for all the other kids to stop and take a look. And I say, \u2018That&#8217;s exactly the way to do it.'&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"In_sports_psychology_terms_this_is_what_we_call_rewarding_positive_behavior\"><\/span>In sports psychology terms, this is what we call rewarding positive behavior.<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Kids don&#8217;t always know how you want them to behave.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So if there are young athletes who are modeling desirable behavior, be sure to set them up as role models for the team. In this way, you&#8217;re defining for them exactly what you want them to focus on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>&#8220;The whole idea is to build <strong>confidence.<\/strong> A lot of times coaches wait until kids make mistakes until they start coaching. Instead of waiting, you should reward them for using proper techniques,&#8221;<\/em> he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here&#8217;s another example: Kids are often worried about striking out or not looking good.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Gelphman tells his players:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>&#8220;Who cares if you strike out, as long as you swing the bat.&nbsp;<\/em><em>You can&#8217;t do anything if you don&#8217;t swing.&#8221; If they strike out, he tells them, &#8220;Good job. You swung the bat. You&#8217;ll get it next time.&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Want to learn more about how to boost kids&#8217; <strong>confidence<\/strong> in sports?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Check out our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.peaksports.com\/ultimate-sports-parent-workbook-cd-program\/\">Ultimate Sports Parent<\/a> workbook.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>You&#8217;ll learn:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>What to say before and after games<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>How much pressure is too much<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Why <strong>confidence<\/strong> is critical to performance<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>How to be a great cheerleader<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>How to give <strong>positive<\/strong> feedback for young athletes<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>and much more!<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.peaksports.com\/ultimate-sports-parent-workbook-cd-program\/\"><strong>The Ultimate Sports Parent Workbook Program<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>P.S.&nbsp;Stay tuned in the coming weeks for a big announcement about a one-stop <strong>mental training<\/strong> solution for young athletes, sports parents and coaches.<\/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\/teaching-kids-courage-resilience-and-character-through-sports\/\"><strong>Teaching Kids Courage, Resilience and Character Through Sports<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/coaching-special-needs-kids-to-overcome-fears\/\"><strong>Helping Young Athletes to Overcome Fears<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/athletes-who-get-benched-for-mistakes\/\"><strong>Athletes who Get Benched for Mistakes<\/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<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_Young_Athletes_Boost_Confidence_in_Sports\"><\/span>Help Young Athletes Boost Confidence 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\/2018\/10\/ultimate-sports-parent-small.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"225\" height=\"250\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/ultimate-sports-parent-small.jpg\" alt=\"The Ultimate Sports Parent\" class=\"wp-image-11157\" style=\"width:167px;height:auto\"\/><\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>Every day, we receive letters from parents like you who want their children and teens to excel in sports. However, these parents can <strong>see fear, doubt, and frustration on the faces of their kids<\/strong> who struggle with the \u201cinner\u201d game of sports. But these parents have no idea how to help their kids <strong>overcome the worries, expectations and self-defeating thoughts<\/strong> that prevent their young athletes from feeling confident and successful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You can benefit from our 1<strong>5-plus years\u2019 of work in sports psychology and sports parenting research<\/strong>. Now, you can <strong>tap into our secrets to sports success<\/strong> through a cutting-edge, 14-day program that helps young athletes overcome the top \u201cmental game\u201d challenges that sports parents face\u2014and the top <strong>challenges young athletes face<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"gb-container gb-container-fbab03ed\">\n\n<a class=\"gb-button gb-button-fa7bf2e7 gb-button-text\" href=\"https:\/\/www.peaksports.com\/ultimate-sports-parent-workbook-cd-program\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">GET DETAILS<\/a>\n\n\n\n<a class=\"gb-button gb-button-33bcee1d gb-button-text\" href=\"https:\/\/shop.peaksports.com\/products\/the-ultimate-sports-parent-digital\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">BUY NOW<\/a>\n\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Rewarding Positive Behavior in Youth Sports Just how important is giving positive feedback to young athletes? For our Ultimate Sports Parent Radio show, we recently checked in with baseball coach Rob Gelphman about this topic. He says giving kids compliments, especially for making small achievements, like fielding a ground ball, &#8230; <a title=\"The Importance of Positive Feedback for Young Athletes\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/the-importance-of-positive-feedback-for-young-athletes\/\" aria-label=\"Read more about The Importance of Positive Feedback for Young Athletes\">Read Sport Psychology Tip<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9100,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26,5,29,6],"tags":[98,266,379,202],"class_list":["post-51","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-confidence-in-young-athletes","category-kids-in-sports","category-positive-feedback-for-kids","category-youth-sports-psychology-blog","tag-confidence-in-sports-kids","tag-positive-feedback-for-kids","tag-positive-feedback-for-young-athletes","tag-sports-parent-tips","resize-featured-image"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51","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=51"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9100"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=51"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=51"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=51"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}