Youth Sports Psychology Articles

How to Help Kids Be “Winning” Losers in Youth Sports

Ultimate Sports Parent Podcast

Making The Most Out of Losses How can you teach your kids to make the most out of losses? Lots of ways, says Frank J. Sileo, Ph.D, a psychologist with more than 16 years’ experience working with kids and families, and the author of “Sally Sore Loser:  A Story about Winning … Read Sport Psychology Tip

Helping Young Athletes Cope with Mistakes and Grow

Youth Sports Psychology

Help Kids Move on After Making Mistakes College basketball coach John Wooden—who won ten NCAA national championships in a 12-year period—said the team that makes the most mistakes will win most often. But athletes lose when they make mistakes, you might argue. Not so. Athletes—especially young athletes—who aren’t afraid of … Read Sport Psychology Tip

How To Help Kids Keep Confidence in The Face of Favoritism

Youth Sports Psychology

Confidence Busters in Youth Sports A sports mom writes us that her daughter’s basketball coach has different rules for different kids. If some kids make mistakes during a game, they still get to be starters in the next game. However, if her daughter makes the same mistakes, she doesn’t get … Read Sport Psychology Tip

Nurturing Kids’ Mental Game Strengths To Boost Performance

Youth Sports Psychology

Helping Sports Kids’ Boost Performance Your sports kids likely have mental game strengths–whether or not they’ve had any mental game training. It’s a good idea to identify and nurture these strengths. This will help your sports kids understand the value of having a strong mental game. Understanding the keys to … Read Sport Psychology Tip

How to Motivate Talented Young Athletes Who are Early Bloomers

Youth Sports Psychology

Sports Kids Who Are Their Own Worst Enemy Young athletes who develop early or who possess raw talent often are their own worst enemies. Why? Things come too easy to them. They’re so used to picking things up quickly that they often aren’t open to working hard to learn. “You … Read Sport Psychology Tip

3 Top Challenges for Sports Kids – And one Solution

Youth Sports Psychology

Enjoying Youth Sports Sports parents have lots of theories about why their kids aren’t performing well or enjoying youth sports. They say things like, “He’s really talented, but he stops trying after he makes mistakes. He needs to feel more secure.” Or: “Whenever the coach gives my daughter any kind … Read Sport Psychology Tip