Inclusivity and Teamwork Increase Confidence It’s important to build youth sports teams that focus on inclusion; this boosts all players’ confidence and success, says Nadine Haruni, a lawyer and author of “Freeda the Frog and Her New Blue Family.” She’s also a sports mom in a blended family with five … Read Sport Psychology Tip
Improve Sports Kids’ Confidence and Focus Mental imagery is a useful mental game skill that can improve young athletes’ performance. Many athletes have experienced success using visualization daily in their training regimes. Athletes say that visualization boosts confidence, improves focus, creates poise under pressure, improves consistency and makes it easier … Read Sport Psychology Tip
Get Kids Moving to Avoid Obesity and Sickness To ensure both their physical and mental health, kids need to get exercise and take part in outdoor play, says Dr. Dan O’Neill, an orthopedic surgeon, sports psychologist and author of “Survival of the Fit.” Twenty percent of kids are obese, and … Read Sport Psychology Tip
Focus on Small Objectives It’s important for young athletes to establish goals in order to improve their training for the new year. Many young athletes have goals about the successes they’re aiming for in competition, but don’t have well-defined goals for training and practice. Training is critical to success in … Read Sport Psychology Tip
How Young Athletes can Feel and Play Safe on the Field When kids feel as if their equipment is safe, they likely feel more confident. However, Mike Oliver, executive director of the National Operating Committee on Standards for Athletic Equipment, says that with expensive equipment, such as helmets, kids can … Read Sport Psychology Tip
How to Help Perfectionist Young Athletes Many top athletes say that they’re perfectionists. When they say this, sports kids may assume that perfectionism will help them attain their full potential. While perfectionism has advantages, it can actually prevent young athletes from reaching their potential. While perfectionists show up for practice … Read Sport Psychology Tip