{"id":870,"date":"2010-10-27T18:50:53","date_gmt":"2010-10-27T18:50:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/?p=870"},"modified":"2025-08-11T02:15:30","modified_gmt":"2025-08-11T06:15:30","slug":"communicate-well-with-sports-kids-and-reap-the-benefits","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/communicate-well-with-sports-kids-and-reap-the-benefits\/","title":{"rendered":"Communicate Well with Sports Kids, And Reap the Benefits"},"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\/2024\/02\/leaning-from-mistakes.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"600\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/leaning-from-mistakes.jpg\" alt=\"How Kids Can Learn to Make the Most of Mistake While Competing\" class=\"wp-image-9218\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/leaning-from-mistakes.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/leaning-from-mistakes-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=\"The_Importance_of_Communicating_With_Sports_Kids\"><\/span>The Importance of Communicating With Sports Kids<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\/communicate-well-with-sports-kids-and-reap-the-benefits\/#The_Importance_of_Communicating_With_Sports_Kids\" >The Importance of Communicating With Sports Kids<\/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\/communicate-well-with-sports-kids-and-reap-the-benefits\/#Ask_them_what_they_love_about_the_sport\" >Ask them what they love about the sport.<\/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\/communicate-well-with-sports-kids-and-reap-the-benefits\/#Another_tip_from_Langlois\" >Another tip from Langlois:<\/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\/communicate-well-with-sports-kids-and-reap-the-benefits\/#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\/communicate-well-with-sports-kids-and-reap-the-benefits\/#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>How you communicate with your <strong>sports kids<\/strong> is critical to building their <strong>confidence<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We recently chatted with Michel Langlois, co-owner of Prospect Communications, which helps parents, coaches and administrators develop more effective <strong>communication<\/strong> approaches. He\u2019s also a former coach and has four grown kids who played many sports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Langlois has lots to say about why nearly 75% of sports kids drop out of sports by the time they are 13\u2014and how to ensure they stay in sports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Kids\u2019 decision to stay in sports and enjoy its many benefits\u2014rather than dropping out\u2014is a function of how much fun they\u2019re having, he says. And young athletes have more fun if parents and coaches understand how best to <strong>communicate<\/strong> with them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here at Kids\u2019 Sports Psychology, we are in complete agreement with Langlois. It\u2019s your job as sports parents to ensure your kids are having <strong>fun.<\/strong> That means it\u2019s your job to understand how to <strong>communicate<\/strong> with them\u2014and how to choose coaches who know just how to pick their words.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Langlois offers some great tips for parents and coaches. First of all, he says, be sure you find out what <strong>motivates<\/strong> your kids to play.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Ask_them_what_they_love_about_the_sport\"><\/span>Ask them what they love about the sport.<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>We\u2019d like to add:<\/strong> Be sure to <strong>listen carefully.<\/strong> When you talk to kids, be sure to separate their motivation for playing sports from your <strong>motivation<\/strong> for having them play sports. You want to follow their lead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We know a coach who, at the beginning of the season, asks parents and kids to complete a questionnaire about why the kids want to play sports and what the parents want from sports. And it helps this coach know how best to coach the kids.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Another_tip_from_Langlois\"><\/span>Another tip from Langlois:<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Be careful about how you give <strong>constructive criticism<\/strong> to young athletes. You don\u2019t want to criticize them right after a mistake, for example. And you should be sure to load them with lots of <strong>positive feedback<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He quotes the Positive Coaching Alliance\u2019s rule of providing kids with five positive, truthful remarks before offering one piece of <strong>constructive feedback<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you\u2019d like to learn more about how to <strong>communicate<\/strong> with young athletes in ways that build their confidence and ensure they stay in sports, we\u2019ve got just what you need at Kids\u2019 Sports Psychology.<\/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-sports-parents-should-communicate-with-athletes-post-game\/\"><strong>How Sports Parents Should Communicate With Kids [Podcast]<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/addressing-outbursts-in-youth-sports\/\"><strong>Addressing Outbursts in Youth Sports<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/how-to-resolve-conflicts-in-youth-sports\/\"><strong>How to Resolve Conflicts in Youth Sports<\/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>\u00a0<\/strong>on 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-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>The Importance of Communicating With Sports Kids How you communicate with your sports kids is critical to building their confidence. We recently chatted with Michel Langlois, co-owner of Prospect Communications, which helps parents, coaches and administrators develop more effective communication approaches. He\u2019s also a former coach and has four grown &#8230; <a title=\"Communicate Well with Sports Kids, And Reap the Benefits\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/communicate-well-with-sports-kids-and-reap-the-benefits\/\" aria-label=\"Read more about Communicate Well with Sports Kids, And Reap the Benefits\">Read Sport Psychology Tip<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9219,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,35,16,17,18,25,6],"tags":[72,70,173,117],"class_list":["post-870","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-kids-in-sports","category-pressure-from-parents","category-pushy-sports-parents","category-sports-parenting","category-young-athletes-pressure","category-youth-sports-coach","category-youth-sports-psychology-blog","tag-communication","tag-motivation","tag-tips-for-sports-parents","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\/870","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=870"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/870\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9219"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=870"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=870"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.youthsportspsychology.com\/youth_sports_psychology_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=870"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}