{"id":6003,"date":"2019-09-12T16:28:54","date_gmt":"2019-09-12T16:28:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/?p=6003"},"modified":"2025-07-10T04:28:27","modified_gmt":"2025-07-10T08:28:27","slug":"help-your-athletes-benefit-from-criticism-by-coaches","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/help-your-athletes-benefit-from-criticism-by-coaches\/","title":{"rendered":"Help Your Athletes Benefit From Criticism by Coaches"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"600\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/help-your-athletes-benefit-from-criticism-by-coaches-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-6005\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/help-your-athletes-benefit-from-criticism-by-coaches-1.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/help-your-athletes-benefit-from-criticism-by-coaches-1-300x150.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_Athletes_Can_Deal_with_Coach_Criticism\"><\/span>How Athletes Can Deal with Coach Criticism  <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\/help-your-athletes-benefit-from-criticism-by-coaches\/#How_Athletes_Can_Deal_with_Coach_Criticism\" >How Athletes Can Deal with Coach Criticism<\/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\/help-your-athletes-benefit-from-criticism-by-coaches\/#Positive_Criticism\" >Positive Criticism<\/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\/help-your-athletes-benefit-from-criticism-by-coaches\/#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\/help-your-athletes-benefit-from-criticism-by-coaches\/#The_Composed_Sports_Kid\" >The Composed Sports Kid<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It can be hard for your young athletes to take <strong>criticism<\/strong> productively from coaches. Kids often don\u2019t interpret communication from coaches correctly because of the delivery or the emotion with which the feedback is conveyed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When their coaches <strong>criticize<\/strong> young athletes, the kids may focus on only the negative part of the message, or miss the message entirely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This is especially true if the <strong>criticism<\/strong> is done in an excessively loud manner. Kids can interpret loudness as overly negative.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It may look like this: A coach yells at young soccer players, \u201cWhat are you doing? You\u2019re moving up too far!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Your sports kids might hear \u201cYou can&#8217;t seem to do anything right!\u201d Later, if your young athletes gets pulled from the game and the coach says, \u201cYou\u2019re not making any of the right passes,\u201d your sports kids might be hearing \u201cYou are not good enough for this team.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Some good coaches are not good communicators, and many are not even positive coaches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Positive_Criticism\"><\/span>Positive Criticism<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">These coaches may think they are trying to motivate kids, but don\u2019t understand how to communicate well enough to effectively be motivational. Instead, your young athletes will often take harsh <strong>criticism <\/strong>and demeaning language personally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While young athletes can&#8217;t control the message or how the message was presented, they can sort through language and tone and capture something of value that they can use to improve their game.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To do this, they must interpret the message objectively, ignore the negativity or harshness of the tone and look for the learning message&#8211;a message that will help them improve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For example, their coach may yell out, \u201cHow is it possible to make the same dumb mistake of not clearing the ball?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Encourage your sports kids to avoid internalizing the word \u201cdumb.\u201d They should not take this feedback personally&#8211;as a hit on their person. You want them to see it for what it is&#8211;feedback about one play in the game.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Instead, they should ask themselves an objective question and answer with an objective answer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cAm I dumb? No, I am a solid defender but I can always improve. I should always remember to immediately clear the ball when given the opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The goal of this exercise is for your athletes to avoid taking the <strong>criticism <\/strong>personally and to get some value from it that they can apply in practice and thus improve.<\/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\" 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\/help-young-athletes-turn-criticism-into-motivation\/\"><strong>Help Young Athletes Turn Criticism into Motivation<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/constructive-criticism-tips-for-young-athletes\/\"><strong>Constructive Criticism Tips for Young Athletes<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/kids-sports-psychology-how-sports-kids-deal-with-criticism\/\"><strong>How Sports Kids Deal with Constructive Criticism [Interview]<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" 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-css-opacity is-style-dots\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_Composed_Sports_Kid\"><\/span>The Composed Sports Kid<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"225\" height=\"250\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/03\/composed-sports-kid-small-1.jpg\" alt=\"The Composed Sports Kid\" class=\"wp-image-11173\" style=\"width:170px\"\/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;The Composed Sports Kid&#8221; audio&nbsp;and workbook digital download program for young athletes and their parents or coach helps kids cope with frustration and anger in sports. Help your sports kids learn how to manage expectations and let go of mistakes so they can keep their head in the game.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em><strong>The Composed Sports Kid system<\/strong><\/em>&nbsp;is really two programs in one\u2013one program to train parents and coaches how to help their kids practice composure, and one program that teaches young athletes\u2013<em>ages 6 to 13<\/em>\u2013how to improve composure, let go of mistakes quickly, have more self-acceptance,&nbsp;<strong>and thus enjoy sports more<\/strong>!&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"gb-container gb-container-26bcd9b3\">\n\n<a class=\"gb-button gb-button-903b6244 gb-button-text\" href=\"https:\/\/www.peaksports.com\/the-confident-sports-kid-cd-program\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">GET DETAILS<\/a>\n\n\n\n<a class=\"gb-button gb-button-3275f4fd gb-button-text\" href=\"https:\/\/shop.peaksports.com\/collections\/confident-sports-kid-series-digital-version\/products\/the-confident-sports-kid-bundle-digital\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">BUY NOW<\/a>\n\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>How Athletes Can Deal with Coach Criticism It can be hard for your young athletes to take criticism productively from coaches. Kids often don\u2019t interpret communication from coaches correctly because of the delivery or the emotion with which the feedback is conveyed. When their coaches criticize young athletes, the kids &#8230; <a title=\"Help Your Athletes Benefit From Criticism by Coaches\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/help-your-athletes-benefit-from-criticism-by-coaches\/\" aria-label=\"Read more about Help Your Athletes Benefit From Criticism by Coaches\">Read Sport Psychology Tip<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6006,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[21,6],"tags":[86],"class_list":["post-6003","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-abusive-coaches-youth-sports","category-youth-sports-psychology-blog","tag-constructive-criticism"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6003","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=6003"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6003\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6006"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6003"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6003"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6003"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}