{"id":6494,"date":"2020-02-27T19:23:22","date_gmt":"2020-02-27T19:23:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/?p=6494"},"modified":"2025-07-09T07:51:40","modified_gmt":"2025-07-09T11:51:40","slug":"how-athletes-can-cope-with-big-crowds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/how-athletes-can-cope-with-big-crowds\/","title":{"rendered":"How Athletes can Cope with Big Crowds"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"600\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/how-athletes-can-cope-with-big-crowds.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-6496\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/how-athletes-can-cope-with-big-crowds.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/how-athletes-can-cope-with-big-crowds-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=\"Help_Young_Athletes_with_Performance\"><\/span>Help Young Athletes with Performance<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\/how-athletes-can-cope-with-big-crowds\/#Help_Young_Athletes_with_Performance\" >Help Young Athletes with Performance<\/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\/how-athletes-can-cope-with-big-crowds\/#Three_Options_for_Dealing_with_Large_Crowds\" >Three Options for Dealing with Large Crowds<\/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\/how-athletes-can-cope-with-big-crowds\/#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\/how-athletes-can-cope-with-big-crowds\/#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\">Young athletes can become <strong>overwhelmed<\/strong> by crowds during games or <strong>performances<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Some kids feel anxious when the crowd claps; others feel energized.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">One figure skater recently responded to our mental game survey and talked about what it feels like to perform in front of spectators.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI get so <strong>overwhelmed<\/strong> and anxious 30 minutes before my program starts. I hear the crowd come alive as the skaters before me look flawless. Just before I step onto the ice, I see images of me falling and the crowd becoming quiet. I am so afraid to fall and embarrass myself that I become a nervous wreck. How can I overcome all these problems and skate better in front of a crowd?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This skater is not the only athlete who mentioned these feelings. Sometimes it\u2019s hard to step onto the ice and be greeted with cheers and applause.<br>The audience will applaud when skaters jump, but go silent if a skill doesn\u2019t look impressive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Skaters and other athletes need to stop thinking about how the crowd will judge them. This sparks anxiety and can hurt kids\u2019 confidence. Fear and anxiety can create a self-fulfilling prophecy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Instead, young athletes need to focus on themselves and stay in the present during their <strong>performance<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Three_Options_for_Dealing_with_Large_Crowds\"><\/span>Three Options for Dealing with Large Crowds<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">1. Ignore the crowd. Some skaters and other athletes have learned how to be hyper-focused when playing or performing. These athletes are so immersed in their performance that they are unaware of the crowd\u2019s reaction. They often say they didn\u2019t even hear the crowd.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">2. Play to the crowd. Some figure skaters like to feed off the crowd. They are energized by crowd noise; it helps them \u201cgo for it\u201d and skate aggressively during their program. These skaters can switch their focus, and feed off the crowd at one moment then focus on their jumps when necessary. Other athletes can do this, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">3. Feel <strong>overwhelmed<\/strong>. Some athletes are too focused on the reactions of the crowd. They begin to fear making mistakes. These athletes are afraid of embarrassing themselves. But focusing on possible problems or mistakes yields anxiety, fear, stress, pressure and under-performance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It\u2019s important to help sports kids choose the right mindset. It will make a huge difference in their confidence and performance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At the 2020 US National Figure Skating Championships, Mariah Bell had one of the best performances of her life, with seven triple jumps in her program. She earned the silver medal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After her <strong>performance<\/strong>, Bell said she fed off the crowd\u2019s energy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI saw how into it the crowd was and I love to share what I do with the audience like that. I feel very awesome to have that experience,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To Bell, the crowd was an ally, not an enemy. It\u2019s important for athletes, like Bell, to learn how to use the crowd to their advantage.<\/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\/how-unruly-crowds-and-parents-hurt-kids-confidence\/\"><strong>How Unruly Crowds and Parents Hurt Kids\u2019 Confidence<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/athletes-who-do-well-in-practice-but-struggle-during-games\/\"><strong>Athletes Who Do Well in Practice, But Struggle During Games<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/how-athletes-can-stop-overthinking\/\" title=\"How Athletes Can Stop Overthinking\u00a0\"><strong>How Athletes Can Stop Overthinking\u00a0<\/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 <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=\"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>Help Young Athletes with Performance Young athletes can become overwhelmed by crowds during games or performances. Some kids feel anxious when the crowd claps; others feel energized. One figure skater recently responded to our mental game survey and talked about what it feels like to perform in front of spectators. &#8230; <a title=\"How Athletes can Cope with Big Crowds\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/how-athletes-can-cope-with-big-crowds\/\" aria-label=\"Read more about How Athletes can Cope with Big Crowds\">Read Sport Psychology Tip<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6497,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[437,307],"class_list":["post-6494","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-youth-sports-psychology-blog","tag-coping-with-distractions-in-sports","tag-performing-freely-in-sports"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6494","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=6494"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6494\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6497"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6494"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6494"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6494"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}