Embracing a Coaching Philosophy In a recent survey by Youth Football USA, 69 percent of respondents said that their main concern was the quality of youth coaches, says Joe Bouffard, active director of Youth Football USA. The survey respondents had good reason to be concerned, he says. But first an … Read Sport Psychology Tip
In a recent survey of more than 700 sports parents and youth coaches, 40% of respondents told us that their kids struggle with doubts and negative thoughts about their performance. In addition, 70% of sports parents reported that their biggest challenge is understanding how to help their kids get the most out of their talents without pressuring their sports kids.
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
Overcoming Pregame Jitters Most top athletes and coaches are aware of the importance of a calm mind and relaxed body for kids to reach peak performance in sports. And so am I… If your athletes are tense, worried about outcomes, or bring stress from life into competition, they will under … Read Sport Psychology Tip
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
Helping Young Athletes Kick Perfectionism Lisa Cohn here from the Ultimate Sports Parent. In my last post, I talked about all the great questions and comments we have received from parents and coaches about perfectionism and fear of failure. One of the biggest concerns from parents is that it may … Read Sport Psychology Tip