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 to teammates and competitors.
It’s pretty natural for sports kids to compare their performance to others, but it becomes a problem when these comparisons hurt kids’ confidence and performance…
When kids compare themselves to others, they can feel jealous of their teammates and competitors. This can cause friction in a team and also distract your sports kids, who will focus more on how much praise another player got, instead of on their own performance.
In addition, when sports kids focus on others’ strengths, they’re not focusing on their own. The can lead to a drop in confidence. Concentrating on others’ strengths will make your young athletes put others on a pedestal, and feel small in comparison.
It makes it hard for athletes to focus on their performance, stay in the moment, and play freely and intuitively.
If your athletes are comparing themselves to others, first find out if your children are feeling intimidated by other potentially higher-skilled athletes. Talk to them about how kids might mature at different times.
While they’re thinking about others’ strengths, they’re also thinking about their own weaknesses, in comparison.
In order to be confident athletes, they shouldn’t dwell on others’ success or abilities…
It’s often easy as parents to compare your athletes to other athletes in the hopes that it motivates them to improve or strive to be better, but comparing them to other stronger athletes can backfire!
Instead, you want your athletes to focus on their own unique talents and abilities. What are their best moments as athletes? Remind them of their unique talents just before games.
The goal is to help your kids become confident players who recognize good players and are excited to test their own skill against them without fear.
In essence, encourage your kids to put their focus where it should be: on themselves and their game!
Related Sports Psychology Articles
- Six Tips for Dealing with Sibling Rivalry In Sports
- Helping Kids to Cope with “Self-Intimidation”
- 5 Tips for Breaking Free of a Performance Slump
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The Confident Sports Kid
When kids lack confidence, they doubt themselves, stop taking risks, play tentatively, and are hard on themselves. As a result, kids often lose their motivation to improve. Ultimately, these barriers keep them from enjoying sports and making the most of their physical talent.
“The Confident Sports Kid” program is actually two programs: one that teaches sports parents how to boost their kids’ confidence, and another that teaches young athletes age 8 to 18 how to improve their self talk, avoid negative thinking, overcome expectations that limit confidence, and much more. The program will help kids boost their confidence in sports and life…and enjoy sports more.