{"id":595,"date":"2010-04-09T13:02:06","date_gmt":"2010-04-09T13:02:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/?p=595"},"modified":"2025-08-07T06:53:58","modified_gmt":"2025-08-07T10:53:58","slug":"helping-sports-kids-focus-on-the-present","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/helping-sports-kids-focus-on-the-present\/","title":{"rendered":"Helping Sports Kids Focus on the Present"},"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\/07\/learning-from-elite-athletes.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"600\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/learning-from-elite-athletes.jpg\" alt=\"What Can Athletes Learn from Elite Athletes\u2019 Mindset?\" class=\"wp-image-9107\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/learning-from-elite-athletes.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/learning-from-elite-athletes-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=\"Sports_Kids_Who_Cant_Let_Go_of_Mistakes\"><\/span>Sports Kids Who Can&#8217;t Let Go of Mistakes<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\/helping-sports-kids-focus-on-the-present\/#Sports_Kids_Who_Cant_Let_Go_of_Mistakes\" >Sports Kids Who Can&#8217;t Let Go of Mistakes<\/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\/helping-sports-kids-focus-on-the-present\/#Dwelling_on_past_mistakes_will_only_sink_kids_confidence\" >Dwelling on past mistakes will only sink kids&#8217; confidence.<\/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\/helping-sports-kids-focus-on-the-present\/#Mental_game_process_goals_are_very_important\" >Mental game process goals are very important.<\/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\/helping-sports-kids-focus-on-the-present\/#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-5\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/helping-sports-kids-focus-on-the-present\/#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>In the popular book,<em> &#8220;The Art of Racing in the Rain,&#8221;<\/em> one of the main characters\u2014a racecar driver\u2014talks about the importance of &#8220;having no memory&#8221; while competing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>&#8220;Memory is time folding back on itself. To remember is to disengage from the present,&#8221;<\/em> the book says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here at the Ultimate Sports Parent and Kids&#8217; Sports Psychology, we agree with this idea. Looking back\u2014especially at past mistakes\u2014isn&#8217;t a good idea while competing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Read on to learn why you should help your <strong>young athletes<\/strong> stay in&nbsp;the present\u2014and how you can do it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>First of all, when young athletes<strong> dwell on their mistakes<\/strong>, they&#8217;re <strong>focused<\/strong> on the past. A bad past. That&#8217;s a <strong>mental game<\/strong> no-no.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Dwelling_on_past_mistakes_will_only_sink_kids_confidence\"><\/span>Dwelling on past mistakes will only sink kids&#8217; confidence.<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Kids often will criticize themselves for making the mistake, then pressure themselves to perform better. They get frustrated if they don&#8217;t perform as well as they told themselves they ought to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You don&#8217;t want kids to think about the future, either. If they <strong>focus<\/strong> on the future, they&#8217;re generally worrying about the score, statistics, or outcomes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Again, they will often pressure themselves to score a certain number of points or achieve great feats to ensure the team doesn&#8217;t lose. And once again, that <strong>pressure<\/strong> will only undermine their performance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That leaves us with the present. That&#8217;s where you want kids to be when they&#8217;re competing or performing. To help kids <strong>focus<\/strong> on the here-and-now, help them establish mini or <strong>&#8220;process&nbsp;goals&#8221;.<\/strong> They should concentrate on both <strong>mental game<\/strong> and performance mini goals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For example, a child could <strong>visualize<\/strong> a serve before serving the ball in tennis and then concentrate on making that <strong>mental<\/strong> picture a reality. A baseball player could commit to the pitch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Mental_game_process_goals_are_very_important\"><\/span>Mental game process goals are very important.<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>For example, they might commit to letting go of the last play. Or they could commit to engaging only in <strong>positive self-talk.<\/strong> That means ensuring the little voice inside their heads is <strong>positive.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Instead of telling themselves, <em>&#8220;I&#8217;m too small to make this play,&#8221;<\/em> they might say,<em> &#8220;I&#8217;m great at <strong>teamwork,<\/strong> and that&#8217;s going to make this play a <strong>success.\u201d<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When sports kids <strong>focus<\/strong> on these types of <strong>goals<\/strong>, they stay grounded in the moment and are less likely to worry about the score or win (the future) or to dwell on their mistakes (the past).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Want to learn more about how to help kids <strong>focus<\/strong> on the present, improve their <strong>confidence<\/strong> and boost your <strong>sports parenting skills?<\/strong> At Kids&#8217; Sports Psychology, we&#8217;ve got many resources for parents, coaches and young athletes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For example, if you&#8217;re already a Kids&#8217; Sports Psychology member, you or your kids can download for free the e-book, <em>&#8220;Focus to the Max!&#8221;<\/em> which is written specifically for young athletes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You can also access audio interviews with youth sports experts, our video analysis of young athletes from around the country, articles, how-to videos and much more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Take a tour of Kids&#8217; Sports Psychology today:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Kids&#8217; Sports Psychology<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>P.S. If you&#8217;re already a Kids&#8217; Sports Psychology member, you can visit this page to access the e-book, <em>&#8220;Focus to the Max!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;Focus to the Max!\u201d Concentration e-book for Young Athletes<\/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\/helping-sports-kids-with-what-if-thinking\/\"><strong>Helping Sports Kids with \u201cWhat if\u201d Thinking\u00a0<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/helping-sports-kids-build-stable-confidence\/\"><strong>Helping Sports Kids Build Stable Confidence\u00a0<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/how-self-talk-can-help-athletes-when-losing-a-game\/\"><strong>How Self-Talk Can Help Athletes When Losing a Game<\/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 <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-1.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-1.jpg\" alt=\"The Focused Sports Kid\" class=\"wp-image-11167\"\/><\/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>Sports Kids Who Can&#8217;t Let Go of Mistakes In the popular book, &#8220;The Art of Racing in the Rain,&#8221; one of the main characters\u2014a racecar driver\u2014talks about the importance of &#8220;having no memory&#8221; while competing. &#8220;Memory is time folding back on itself. To remember is to disengage from the present,&#8221; &#8230; <a title=\"Helping Sports Kids Focus on the Present\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/helping-sports-kids-focus-on-the-present\/\" aria-label=\"Read more about Helping Sports Kids Focus on the Present\">Read Sport Psychology Tip<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9108,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26,19,6],"tags":[64,120,53,121,417,49,416,415,414,117],"class_list":["post-595","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-confidence-in-young-athletes","category-pressure-in-sports","category-youth-sports-psychology-blog","tag-confidence","tag-dwelling-on-mistakes","tag-focus","tag-goals","tag-goals-for-kids-in-sports","tag-pressure","tag-pressure-kids-in-sports","tag-sports-kids-and-focus","tag-young-athletes-and-concentration","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\/595","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=595"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/595\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9108"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=595"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=595"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=595"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}