Motivate Young Athletes Without Pressuring Them
Sam, a Division III basketball player, says it’s hard for him to motivate himself unless his coaches are watching him and pushing him along.
As a young athlete, Sam’s not alone. We hear from many parents who say that their kids of all ages have a hard time motivating themselves under certain circumstances.
The bad news:
Athletes who lack motivation don’t play up to their potential.
The good news:
There’s lots parents and coaches can do to improve their motivation, their enjoyment and their performance.
The challenge for you, of course, is to help motivate your young athletes without pressuring them.
How exactly do you do that?
First, let’s take a step back.
What exactly is motivation?
It’s the ability to commit to a goal and pursue it with enthusiasm. This is critical to succeeding in sports.
It’s important for you, as sports parents, to understand why your young athletes play sports. Kids need to be motivated for the right reasons; reasons that are meaningful to them.
They might play to feel like they’re part of a group, or to improve their skills, or to become more physically fit, for example. They might like the excitement of competition.
You need to ensure that these desires are met by their team. For example, if they like the excitement of competition, but spend their practices doing boring drills, they won’t be very motivated.
A number of factors or experiences will also undermine kids’ motivation. Criticism is one of them. If you or your child’s coaches spend too much time criticizing your young athletes, they’ll lose motivation or begin playing tentatively, especially if they’re sensitive to criticism. They’ll be afraid of making mistakes.
If sports is all work and no fun, they’ll likely feel less motivated, as well. What’s more, if they’re not challenged, they’re likely to become bored.
Again, it’s critical to ensure your sports kids’ needs are met by ensuring they get what they want from sports. That will boost their motivation. And it doesn’t involve any pressure!
But here’s what’s most interesting: You can also help motivate your young athletes by building a strong relationship with them. Why does this matter? Kids who don’t have this strong bond have a harder time learning.
If there’s no strong parent-child bond, they become distracted by their need for attention. Kids with strong relationships with their parents are more motivated and willing to take risks!
If you’re interested in learning more about how to motivate your kids without pressuring them, here’s an e-book for you: Improve Young Athletes’ Motivation with Goal Achievement
Related Articles on Youth Sports:
- How To Motivate Young Athletes By Tapping Into Their Passions
- How to Motivate Talented Young Athletes Who are Early Bloomers
- How Self-Talk Can Help Athletes When Losing a Game
*Subscribe to The Sports Psychology Podcast on iTunes
*Subscribe to The Sports Psychology Podcast on Spotify
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.