Youth Sports Coaching

Youth sport coaching articles and tips for coaches and parents to develop confidence and a growth mindset in young athletes.

How Parents Can Improve Communication with Sports Kids – of All Abilities

Youth Sports Psychology

Communicating With Young Athletes We recently checked in with sports dad Michael Wood–chief fitness officer at Koko Fitness Inc.– about his daughter’s making her high school basketball team as a 6th grader. This was a double-edged sword for Wood… On the one hand, he was happy she had the opportunity … Read Sport Psychology Tip

The Importance of Positive Feedback for Young Athletes

How Choking Hurts Athletes’ Performance 

Rewarding Positive Behavior in Youth Sports Just how important is giving positive feedback to young athletes? For our Ultimate Sports Parent Radio show, we recently checked in with baseball coach Rob Gelphman about this topic. He says giving kids compliments, especially for making small achievements, like fielding a ground ball, … Read Sport Psychology Tip

Sports Parents Share Stories About Kids’ Perfectionism

Youth Sports Psychology

Identifying Perfectionism in Young Athletes Lisa Cohn here from The Ultimate Sports Parent. I would like to share some quick tips about identifying perfectionism and fear of failure in young athletes. This is a really hot topic in youth sports. Several parents and coaches have shared their stories about young … Read Sport Psychology Tip

Redefining Winning for Young Athletes

Youth Sports Psychology

Changing Sports Kids’ Focus Young athletes want to feel like winners – whether or not they are always scoring and beating their opponents. Sports parents can help their kids feel good about their experiences simply by taking the focus off the win. David Jacobson, a spokesman for the Positive Coaching … Read Sport Psychology Tip

Negative Feedback: A Confidence Buster for Young Athletes

How to Help Sports Kids Overcome Pressure in Sports

By Lisa Cohn and Dr. Patrick Cohn Mike, a sports dad to an 11-year-old who plays high-level baseball, is worried about his son’s confidence. Jim’s baseball coach often singles Jim out for making mistakes. As a result, the kids on the team also comment when Jim makes mistakes. Mike says … Read Sport Psychology Tip

Sports Parents: Why Sports Kids Need Great Coaching

In a minute, we’re going to give you great tips from Dr. John McCarthy, director of Boston University’s Institute for Athletic Coach Education, who we interviewed recently.Dr. McCarthy has lots to tell you about youth coaches: why they’re so important in today’s society and what makes them a positive-or negative-influence … Read Sport Psychology Tip