Help Sports Kids Feel Motivated, Not Pressured
A new book, “Trophy Son,” about tennis prodigy Anton Stratis, is an important warning about the dangers of being over-involved, albeit well-meaning, sports parents.
The book details the world of tennis from young Anton’s point of view.
“Anton has the tennis dad from hell in Trophy Son… Douglas Brunt’s breezy coming-of-age novel,” says a review in USA Today. “Anton, who narrates this tale, pretty much gets our sympathy from the first page: ‘A tennis racket lurks in my earliest memories like a sick relative who had come to live with us.'”
Anton’s dad is a former Olympic swimmer and retired millionaire who focuses all his energy on Anton. In one part of the book, Anton’s dad refuses to let him drink water on a hot day while he hits hundreds of balls on the family’s private court, says the review.
Here at the Ultimate Sports Parent and Kids’ Sports Psychology, we’ve mentioned before that it’s important that kids feel motivated from within to play sports–that they are self-motivated or self-directed–as they progress.
If parents pressure them with expectations to excel, they’ll end up feeling more pressure, playing to please their parents, and not having fun. This type of external motivation doesn’t create happy, confident, or successful athletes.
Instead of pressuring their sports kids, parents need to focus on building confidence in their young athletes.
To build confidence, they should focus on what motivates their young athletes to play, whether it’s to be with friends, learn new skills, be part of a team, or enjoy competing. They need to be as supportive as possible.
In our latest program, “10-Minute Pregame Prep,” we help parents understand just what they should do before a game to build confidence in their young athletes.
We address the dangers of high expectations, what to say to kids just before a game, and what not to say, and how to help kids mentally prepare for competition.
Trust us, none of this involves high expectations and pressure! It includes our tried-and-true tips for helping kids feel prepared, confident and composed before a game.
Check it out here, and download Lesson 1 on us:
Related Articles on Youth Sports:
- Are Your Athletes Self-Motivated or Driven by Parents?
- Keeping Sports Kids Motivated After Injuries
- How Sports Kids’ Emotions Affect Teammates
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Help Young Athletes Boost Confidence in Sports!
Every day, we receive letters from parents like you who want their children and teens to excel in sports. However, these parents can see fear, doubt, and frustration on the faces of their kids who struggle with the “inner” game of sports. But these parents have no idea how to help their kids overcome the worries, expectations and self-defeating thoughts that prevent their young athletes from feeling confident and successful.
You can benefit from our 15-plus years’ of work in sports psychology and sports parenting research. Now, you can tap into our secrets to sports success through a cutting-edge, 14-day program that helps young athletes overcome the top “mental game” challenges that sports parents face—and the top challenges young athletes face.