The Importance of Mental Training
Steve Siebold is a former top 500 tennis player who knows what it’s like to be under pressure as a sports kid.
He also knows how much that pressure can affect kids throughout their lives—in a negative way.
“Some of the best tennis players in the world won’t go near a tennis court now because of the negative associations they have from years in youth sports,” he says.
When he was 10 or 12, everyone told him to do something different. The pressure was high, and he had to learn how to “be his own best friend,” he says.
“You learn to be your own best friend or you are under stress all the time,” he says. Siebold became his own best friend by becoming an independent thinker. “You tell yourself, ‘I made a decision. That was good enough for me.’”
That’s how he got through 10 years on the junior tennis circuit. “I wasn’t great at it but got good at it after five or six years,” he says.
If he had access to a sports psychologist or sports psychology resources, it would have made a world of difference to him, he says.
To help kids succeed in sports, parents need to focus on ensuring their kids acquire the mental game skills that they can use in all aspects of their lives, he stresses.
“In youth sports, you’re preparing your child for the real world—not just the game they’re preparing for now,” he says. Helping them prepare for the real world will help them become their own best friends.
To listen to the first half of this interview, use the player below:
Related Articles on Kids’ Mental Game:
- How to Explain Mental Training to Teens
- Helping Young Athletes Embrace Mental Training
- Mental Training for Young Athletes
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