Parents And Coaches: Help Athletes Avoid Distractions
Parents and coaches, young athletes can become easily distracted especially during the spring season!
First of all, there’s the weather. It’s so easy to get distracted when the weather is warmer and sunnier.
Second, there’s all the excitement about the end of school approaching. Kids get itchy and focused on getting out of school.
Add to these issues, young athletes have a lot of distractions in sports–from people who watch their games to judging their performance!
But you can help reign in those distractions and teach your sports kids important lessons that will benefit them in sports-and life.
First of all, you should explain that focus is a critical skill–and that it’s a skill that can be honed.
And if kids learn to improve their ability to stay focused in sports, they can improve this skill in other areas of their lives.
Next, ask them to tell you their top distractions when they compete. Often, sports kids aren’t aware of the fact that they’re distracted and this can turn into making mental errors.
They may not realize that they’re distracted with worries about what others think of them, or concern about their parents on the sidelines-unless you help them think about this.
Once they’ve identified their distractions, teach them to refocus as quickly as possible on the task at hand. If they’re batting, they should focus on what they need to do to have a quality at-bat, for example.
They can also use a routine to help them focus better.
Related Articles on Youth Sports:
- Helping Young Athletes Cope with Pregame Distractions
- Cut Distractions and Make It Fun: Miami Dolphins’ Advice [Podcast]
- Top Performance-Busting Distractions For Young Athletes
*Subscribe to The Sports Psychology Podcast on iTunes
*Subscribe to The Sports Psychology Podcast on Spotify
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.