Youth Sport Articles

Articles for sport parents and young athletes for tips on how to build confidence, perform more consistently, and overcome challenges.

Why Pickleball is Good for Kids

Building Confidence in Athletes

Improve Mental Toughness by Playing Pickleball Pickleball’s popularity is growing quickly, with many schools offering it for the first time. That’s the word from Mike Nielsen, the AAU’s new pickleball chief, and In Pickleball president Richard Porter. In fact, the two pickleball enthusiasts are working to ensure the sport is … Read Sport Psychology Tip

How Playing Sports Can Help Kids Transition to Reopening

pressure in youth sports

Easing Young Athletes Back into Seeing Friends and Teammates Sports kids may feel anxious about changing the routines they developed during the shutdown, says Elizabeth Englander, a Ph.D psychologist, researcher, professor and author of “The Insanely Awesome Post-Pandemic Playbook.” However, playing sports is a good way to transition to normal … Read Sport Psychology Tip

Help Young Athletes Develop a Competitive Mindset

Flow State

How to Separate Training from Competition What is a competitive mindset? Can young athletes learn to develop a competitive mindset? They can, but first they need to understand the difference between the training mindset and the competitive mindset. When kids are in the training mindset, they focus on improving the … Read Sport Psychology Tip

How Young Athletes Build Ultimate Self-Confidence

Ultimate Self Confidence

Athletes who Lose Confidence with Constructive Criticism “I’m a female soccer player. I’m often challenged mentally when playing and this usually happens at training sessions, my teammate would tell me how I can’t do a certain thing eg. Properly marking my opponent.” “I end up questioning my ability to do … Read Sport Psychology Tip

Using Sports Psychology to Overcome a Cold Streak

How Sports Kids’ Mental Game Affects College Recruitment

“How to Win Wimbledon in Pajamas” Mary Nhin’s son, Kobe, began competing in tennis a couple of years ago and was winning most of his games… until he hit a cold streak. “He began going into super tiebreakers, a very short determining point system, and he would get very nervous, … Read Sport Psychology Tip