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 Hurts Sports Kids Confidence? Do your sports kids hold goofy beliefs about what boosts their performance? They may think that they’ll perform well if they wear a certain pair of socks, or sport a red headband, or eat five granola bars before a game. Often such ideas come from … 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
Expectations in Young Athletes Mary, a sports mom, says she’s at a loss about how to help her talented 16-year-old baseball player overcome his perfectionism and start playing well again. “He has always been a very strong baseball player. He is a pitcher who hitters don’t like to face and … 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