Helping Young Athletes Focus On Their Talents
A sports parent says:
“My son is very tentative when playing basketball. He always has his eye on what others are doing—his teammates and his opponents. How can we help him play with more confidence?”
This young athlete likely struggles with a common mental-game challenge:
He makes too many comparisons to teammates and competitors.
It’s pretty natural for sports kids to compare their performance to others, but it becomes a problem when these comparisons start hurting kids’ confidence and performance…
When kids compare themselves to others, they can feel jealous of their teammates and competitors. This can cause friction in a team and also distract your sports kids, who will focus more on how much praise another player got, instead of on their own performance.
In addition, when sports kids focus on others’ strengths, they’re not focusing on their own. Concentrating on others’ strengths will make your young athletes put others on a pedestal, and feel small in comparison.
It makes it hard for kids to focus on what they need to focus on, stay in the moment, and play freely and intuitively.
If your sports kids are comparing themselves to others, first find out if your children are feeling intimidated by other potentially higher-performing players. Talk to them about the effects of these thoughts.
While they’re thinking about others’ strengths, they’re also thinking about their own weaknesses, in comparison.
In order to be confident athletes, they shouldn’t dwell on others’ success or abilities….
And its often easy as parents to compare your athletes to other athletes in the hopes that it motivates them to improve or strive to be better.
But comparing them to other stronger athletes can backfire!
Instead, you want your kids to focus on their own unique talents and abilities.
What are their best moments as players?
Remind them of their unique talents just before games.
The goal is to help your kids become confident players who recognize good players and are excited to test their own skill against them without fear.
In essence, encourage your kids to put their focus where it should be: on themselves and their game!
Help your kids focus better with The Focused Sports Kid program. Learn more:
Related Articles on Youth Sports:
- Why Young Athletes Shouldn’t Compare Themselves to Others
- Why Young Athletes Shouldn’t Compare Their Skills To Others
- Help Sports Kids Turn Comparisons into Growth & Comradery
*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.