Confidence For Young Athletes
A parent asked us in our recent survey, “How do you get kids ready and to games on time? What do you do to make them feel confident?”
It’s critical to understand that you, as parents, can’t MAKE your kids feel confident; athletes must earn their confidence and think confidently!
Too often, we see that sports kids rely too much on their parents and coaches to feel confident.
During games, for example, we see kids checking their parents’ and coach’s faces for approval and advice after every plan.
But the truth is, kids can—and need to—rely on themselves to feel confident!
How can kids can more SELF-confidence?
Kids can boost their own confidence in many, many ways.
For example, you can help them put together a “confidence resume” that details all their physical and mental strengths, great moments, and the moments that make them brim with pride.
Before competition, they can review their confidence resumes. And they can do this without the aid of parents and coaches.
Highlight video edits is another way for kids to feel more self-confident. When kids see themselves performing well in the past, they believe they can in the future.
In addition, kids can focus, just before a game, on just “going for it.” That means they need to stop practicing and become a competitor!
They must trust in their practice and the skills they’ve learned. They have to focus on getting the job done—and winning “ugly” if they have to, which is hard if you have a perfectionist.
That means they might not look graceful or technically perfect–but they’ll get the job done! And again, they can do that without relying on their parents.
We appreciate all the feedback we’re getting in response to our survey about pregame mistakes kids make before they compete (including the questions that began this email).
We want to hear from you, too, as we work on programs specific to your needs as a sports parent or coach.
If you have not provided your input, please complete the pregame survey so that we can focus as much as possible on your specific challenges!
Related Articles on Youth Sports:
- How This Sport Builds Confidence and Focus in Kids
- Addressing Anxiety, Mistakes and Low Confidence in Youth Sports
- How Elite Teams Can Hurt Kids’ Confidence
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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.