Staying Focused in Youth Sports
Sports kids would benefit much more from sports if they were less distracted and had more fun.
That’s the word from Troy Drayton, coordinator of youth programs for the Miami Dolphins.
Drayton, who visits elementary and middle schools three days a week to teach about physical fitness and positive choices, says the biggest mental game challenge for kids is being distracted.
They’re often distracted by their friends, he says. He stresses the importance of helping kids learn to listen to what coaches and instructors are trying to tell them.
Here’s a Kids’ Sports Psychology, we agree that distractions are a big mental-game challenge.
We suggest that young athletes identify their top distractions and then take steps to overcome them. Before kids identify what distracts them, they often don’t realize they’re being distracted.
As for steps to overcome distractions, here’s an example:
If athletes are distracted because they worry what their friends will think of them, we tell them to banish such thoughts from their minds and focus on what they need to do right now to get the job done.
We also agree with Drayton’s second point: The importance of having fun in youth sports.
“It’s always a good to have a little fun,” he says. “We get a little silly at times. When we let our guard down, they can let their guard down, too.”
When sports isn’t fun, kids lose interest, he says.
Parents who pressure their young athletes and expect too much of them can ruin the fun, Drayton says. Too often, parents have a win-at-all costs attitude. They need to understand that fun is more important for sports kids.
Remember: More than 60% of kids drop out of sports by the time they are 13 because sports isn’t fun any more. Be sure to focus on fun!
Listen to the podcast here:
Related Articles on Youth Sports:
- Tips To Keep Young Athletes Focused When They’re Distracted During Holidays
- How Can Sports Kids Get to the Next Level?
- Improving Young Athletes’ Mental Game
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Help Your Young Athletes Improve Focus In Sports!
Are your young athletes easily distracted by people shouting on the sidelines? Do they obsess over their mistakes? Do they worry about what people think of them?
These issues will cause their concentration and performance to suffer!The Focused Sports Kid helps kids overcome distractions that can hurt their performance in sports.
The Focused Sports Kid program is actually two programs: one for sports parents/coaches that provides mental game tips especially designed for parents and coaches, and for young athletes, ages 8 to 12, that will walk them through 7 simple lessons in mental focus in sports.
It was a pleasure interviewing Troy!
–Lisa