What Mental Game Challenges Do Young Athlete Have?
A sports parent wrote in and said:
“My 14-year-old is a basketball player and an excellent shooter under most circumstances, but recently he has been missing free throws and shots in the fourth quarter. After the games, he seems dejected and sad, and it isn’t getting any better. How can I help him boost his confidence?”
As sports parents, you are in a tricky position when it comes to your sports kids’ confidence…
You don’t want kids to lean on you to boost their confidence.
You want them to be in charge of their confidence.
It’s not a good idea for you to try to convince them to feel confident by constantly telling them how great they are.
They may rely on you too much for their confidence, which can lead to fragile confidence…
You want your sports children to take charge of their own confidence.
So how do you help your young athletes take charge of their confidence?
Ask them questions that will help them see the positives in their play.
Ask them:
- “What are your strengths in the sport?”
- “How do you help your team?”
- “What have you done well at, even though your shooting isn’t perfect right now?”
The idea is to develop SELF-confidence instead of you trying to make them feel confident. Confidence should be stable and not fragile in this case.
Also, the main issue may not be about a lack of confidence, but rather pressure your athletes feel to make the shots at the end of the game–especially when it’s a close game.
In this case, some athletes worry about outcomes too much, such as missing or losing the game.
These athletes tighten up in big moments because they are worried about failing their teammates or coaches.
So you first have to find out if your athletes are worried about missing or losing the game for the team.
Beware, when athletes under perform, it’s not always about a lack of confidence or poor focus–other challenges might exist “under the hood.”
You can use this one-page test to find out what the real challenges are with your athlete.
Download it here:
Mental Game Test
Please contact us if you’d like professional help with your athletes’ mental game. We do offer one-on-one mental coaching for athletes ages 12 and older. Or start with one of our programs in The Confident Sports Kid series.
Related Articles on Youth Sports:
- Sports Parents: Do Your Sports Kids Lack Confidence?
- Teaching Sports Kids to “Go For It” When They Lack Confidence
- How Building Community Boosts Confidence in Youth Sports
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The Composed Sports Kid
“The Composed Sports Kid” audio 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.
The Composed Sports Kid system is really two programs in one–one program to train parents and coaches how to help their kids practice composure, and one program that teaches young athletes–ages 6 to 13–how to improve composure, let go of mistakes quickly, have more self-acceptance, and thus enjoy sports more!