Athletes Who Do Well in Practice, But Struggle During Games

Kids Who Fail to Perform Well in Competition

A sports grandparent says,

“I have a 10-year-old grandson who plays little league baseball. When he started playing at 8 years old he was very aggressive and very good at making contact with the baseball.

The last two years his confidence has decreased…stepping out of the batter’s box instead of stepping toward the pitcher. At home and in practice he crushes the ball. How can I help him take his confidence from practice to games?”

In this situation, sports parents (and grandparents) need to begin by finding out what is undermining their sports kids’ confidence. Some reasons might include recent under performance, doubt, trying to hard, or negative thoughts and distractions.

In this case, the fact that this young athlete is still performing well in practice suggests that he may be having issues performing in front of crowds or when he feels pressure in games.

Ask your athletes if they expect to be perfect in games. Do they have any self-doubt about their performance or if they worry about making mistakes.

Find out if kids are comparing themselves to teammates or opponents who have been more successful recently. Are they worried about what people may be thinking? Such challenges will hurt their performance.

Next, help kids focus on proactive confidence or taking control of their confidence level.

What does confidence feels like to them while batting? What do they concentrate on? How does their performance feel?

If kids are still performing well – and with confidence – in practice, what feels different in games? How does hitting the ball in games change for kids, and what are what changes with their thinking?

Finally, help kids focus on their belief in their skills, instead of on results or getting hits.

Athletes like this know they are good hitters because they can hit in practice! Consider having kids list their strengths and skills during their best moments. Have them review the list before games.

And parents, avoid focusing on what your kids are doing wrong in games as you don’t want them to think they must be perfect and avoid mistakes!

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Related Articles on Youth Sports:

• Helping Athletes Who Get Timid During Competition
• When Kids Play Better in Practice Than Games
• How Sports Parents Can Help Kids Before Games

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“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!