How Perfectionism Can Lead to Fear of Failure A sports parent writes: “My child is a 9-year old figure skater. She is very passionate with her sport but sometimes she tend to get very frustrated when she performs poorly in her program. Also, when she is performing well, her coach … Read Sport Psychology Tip
Building Confidence in Youth Sports A sports parent asks: “I hear that it’s important to help kids set goals in sports. I’m not at all sure about how to go about this. Do you have any advice?” Goal setting is essential in and out of sports. A 1979 Harvard study … Read Sport Psychology Tip
The Importance of Resiliency in Youth Sports A sports parent asks, “My children seem to get easily stressed out when things go wrong while playing. Is there anything I can do about this?” The issue your children are facing is common and can be challenging. They could benefit from some … Read Sport Psychology Tip
How Can Parents Help Athletes Have Fun? A sport parent asks: “My 5-yr-old niece is playing softball and right now she is experiencing issues of not wanting to bat with fear of getting out. It’s real bad and embarrassing, she keeps crying and having tantrums in the dugout. Also today … Read Sport Psychology Tip
Help Sports Kids Feel Motivated, Not Pressured A new book, “Trophy Son,” about tennis prodigy Anton Stratis, is an important warning about the dangers of being over-involved, albeit well-meaning, sports parents. The book details the world of tennis from young Anton’s point of view. “Anton has the tennis dad from … Read Sport Psychology Tip
Motivating Young Athletes Without Pressuring Them In our survey of more than 3,000 sports parents, the top challenge cited by parents of young athletes is this: How can I help my kids get the most of out sports without pressuring them? In the survey, 68.7 percent of respondents named this … Read Sport Psychology Tip