Patrick Cohn

How do Concussion Rules Affect Kids’ Mental Game?

Building Confidence in Athletes

New Rules Don’t Undermine Kids’ Mental Game Skills New concussion rules and regulations can build respect in young athletes for their opponents. In addition, the rules don’t hurt kids’ other mental game skills. That’s the word from Thomas Heiden, who played college hockey at Notre Dame and has coached many … Read Sport Psychology Tip

Boosting Athletes’ Confidence with Life Skills Lessons

Building Confidence in Athletes

Life Skills Lessons for Athletes Kids are coming to Skyhawks Sports Academy camps with confidence challenges, says Sarah Kelley-Reid, a sports parent and the East Coast regional manager at Skyhawks Sports Academy, which provides skill-based sports experiences for kids 4-14. For some, social media is dragging down their confidence. Some … Read Sport Psychology Tip

Helping Kids Stop Criticizing Their Game

How to Help Sports Kids Feel Less Pressure

Help Athletes Be Less Self-Critical 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 underperformance. The criticism also creates a loop: they perform badly…they criticize themselves…their confidence and motivation … Read Sport Psychology Tip

Constructive Criticism Tips for Young Athletes

Youth Sports Psychology

How do your athletes respond to constructive criticism? Do they reject it outright or welcome it from coaches? Why do some athletes reject corrections or constructive feedback from their coaches? Athletes are afraid of constructive criticism for several reasons: They feel they are negatively being judged. The criticism confirms some … Read Sport Psychology Tip

What Recruiters Are Looking For in Athletes

Get your Athlete Recruited Today

What Mental Game Skills do College Recruiters Look For? Recruiters and coaches look for a number of mental game traits when they’re evaluating athletes, says David Kmiecik, senior recruiting manager for Next College Student Athlete (NCSA). First of all, they look for athletes’ ability to recover from failure. “You’re going … Read Sport Psychology Tip