How High Expectations Lead to Pressure in Young Athletes A recent NCAA poll of more than 21,000 current college athletes shed some interesting light on how pressured these athletes feel about making it big. The data, from NCAA’s GOALS Study of the Student-Athlete experience, and just reported in USA Today, … Read Sport Psychology Tip
Pressure And Social Approval Often, young athletes worry too much about what teammates, parents, coaches and friends think about how they’re performing on the court, field or course. When they seek others’ approval of their performance and abilities, and then don’t do well, they can feel inadequate. They might pressure … Read Sport Psychology Tip
How Coaches Influence Parents And Athletes A coach asks: “How does a coach influence the parents and players to be committed to a process that requires investment in effort, time and money before results are ‘seen’?” Good question… In our fast-paced lives, kids and parents often expect results right away … Read Sport Psychology Tip
Helping Sports Kids’ Focus Before Games Just before a game, young athletes need to focus on what’s going on right now—not on the past or future. That means they need to learn how to avoid concentrating on what others think of them, on the score or win or other outcomes. … Read Sport Psychology Tip
Why Do More Girls Drop Out of Sports Than Boys? We already knew that by the time they are 13, seventy-five percent of kids drop out of sports, mostly because they’re not having fun anymore. But research shows that girls drop out of sports at rates six times higher than … Read Sport Psychology Tip
Pregame Jitters in Young Athletes Do your kids interpret pregame jitters as something is wrong with them before they compete? Often, the pregame jitters can help kids focus better and boost their energy just before a game. However, those butterflies and sweaty palms are more than just jitters; they’re actually … Read Sport Psychology Tip