Stay Confident After A Loss
It’s easy to hurt your young athletes’ confidence after a game, saying the wrong things or talking too much about the game, especially if your team lost.
Many kids link their self-esteem with their performance. We don’t want that to happen. Too often, parents say things that sink kids’ confidence and self-esteem after a game.
What’s more, they inadvertently “punish” kids after bad games and “reward” them for good games.
For example, showing excitement is a reward and being silent after a bad game can feel like punishment to a young athlete.
Instead, parents need to:
- Think hard about the subtle rewards and punishments you unintentionally send to your sports kids after a game or performance.
- Try to stay consistent in your body language and other reactions after a game, ie, don’t show too much emotion if the team wins or loses (We know this isn’t easy!)
- Don’t focus on your child’s mistakes after a game—and don’t suggest that kids shouldn’t make mistakes; they should!
- Help kids understand that their self-esteem should not be linked to whether they win or lose. Tell them you love them no matter what.
Related Articles on Youth Sports:
- How Should Parents React When They See a Player Bullied?
- How Steph Curry Became Resilient: A Lesson for Parents
- The Top 4 Pregame Mistakes Sports Parents Make
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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.