Is it Hurtful or Beneficial For Kids to Specialize in Sports? These days, kids as young as 7 have begun specializing in one sport. That means that they are practicing the sport year-round to boost their performance- not just for the fun of it. Such early specialization–and specialization in general–has … Read Sport Psychology Tip
Helping Sports Kids Focus Does your young athlete have a difficult time focusing during practices or competition? Not only can your athlete be distracted by outer distractions, such as parents coaching from the sidelines, but also their own internal distractions. We have identified many internal distractions for young athletes. These … Read Sport Psychology Tip
Helping Sports Kids Overcome Distractions Let’s face it, all young athletes get distracted from time to time. Some sports kids get distracted a lot-and don’t even realize it. Here’s the problem: Distracted sports kids aren’t focusing on what they need to focus on. As a result, they often experience lower … Read Sport Psychology Tip
What Pressures Sports Kids? Parents, think twice before investing a lot of money into youth sports. While your intentions may be well-meaning, your efforts may backfire. That’s the word from a new study about spending and youth sports. The author, Travis Dorsch, found that higher parental spending creates sports kids … Read Sport Psychology Tip
Young Athletes Compare Themselves to Other Athletes? Do they worry that they aren’t good enough when standing next to an opponent, or even a friend? Many young athletes don’t focus on their own talents because they are too busy comparing themselves to others. Making comparisons to other athletes leads to … Read Sport Psychology Tip
Positive Self-Talk in Youth Sports Even top athletes tell themselves, “I need to talk to myself more positively. I need to take a hard look at the way I talk to myself about sports.” In youth sports, kids need to do this, too, says Dan Schaeffer, Ph.D., who works with … Read Sport Psychology Tip