Are Losses Devastating or motivating? This is a question sports kids should ask themselves. Some athletes allow one defeat, especially if the competition was significantly important to them, to take the wind out of their sails. They believe the possibility of another defeat is not worth the long hours of … Read Sport Psychology Tip
Pressure is part of sports for young athletes. In fact, you would be hard pressed to find athletes who say they haven’t experienced some pressure. As sports kids become more competitive, pressure seems to increase and, for many athletes, that can be an overwhelming aspect of the athletic experience.Athletes respond … Read Sport Psychology Tip
What is “Choking” — Crumble Under Pressure. Some examples of chokers: Choking is under performing during pressure moments of a game or competition. The problem is not about kids’ ability to perform. It’s about performing under pressure. For chokers, pressure becomes overwhelming and interferes with performing in the moment. When … Read Sport Psychology Tip
How to Help Your Athletes Stop Tearing Down Themselves Are your sports kids critical of themselves? After every mistake or bad game, do they put themselves down? When kids criticize themselves excessively, they experience fractured confidence, low motivation and under performance. The criticism also creates a loop: they perform badly…they … Read Sport Psychology Tip
Young athletes Commonly Struggle with Comparison “My son is very tentative when playing basketball. He always has his eye on what others are doing—his teammates and his opponents. How can we help him play with more confidence?” This young athlete likely struggles with a common mental-game challenge: He compares himself … Read Sport Psychology Tip
Feelings Can be Contagious in Youth Sports Athletes can pick up on others’ feelings–often negative–in youth sports. In fact, feelings can snowball from one player to another, either lifting the team up emotionally or dragging it down. That’s the message from Jess Woods, Ph.D, a sport and performance consultant, sports … Read Sport Psychology Tip