Pregame Mental Preparation For Young Athletes
Just before a game or competition, kids need to be as mentally ready as possible.
However, it’s hard to do this when kids feel anxious, distracted, worried or tense about what’s about to happen.
This can undermine kids’ performance and confidence….
Parents can inadvertently contribute to the stress. In fact, kids say they feel pressured to perform by their parents or want to meet their mom and dad’s high expectations.
That’s why you want to help your kids be mentally ready before a game or competition…
Kids and parents say that just before a game, young athletes:
- Feel pressure to perform. Parents shouldn’t contribute to this pressure by saying things like “Go out there and score ten goals,” or “I hope you’ll be the best player out there.” Instead, tell kids to go out there and have fun.
- Focus too much on the outcome instead of the process. This means they worry too much about the score, their stats or the win.
- Don’t trust in their skills when they transition from practice to games. This means that they stay in the practice mindset and keep trying to hone their skills.
- Hang on to mistakes and dwell on them in competition. Focusing on mistakes makes kids feel frustrated and they’re distracted too.
- Worry too much about what others think just before a competition. As sports parents, you can worsen kids’ need for social approval, which you don’t want to do!
- Tighten up and place safe when they feel pressure to perform. Sports parents can contribute to this by expressing high expectations before a game.
- Worry about the quality of their warm up and lose confidence it it didn’t go perfectly. Kids then start competition with less than a full tank of confidence.
- Interpret the pregame jitters as a sign they are anxious about the game. This can move athletes from feeling excited to feeling anxious.
We cover all these pregame pitfalls and more in our brand new program:
“10-Minute Pregame Prep: 8 Mental Toughness Lessons for Young Athletes”
Your athletes listen to one of eight 10-minute audio programs before competition, which helps them a simple lesson for pregame preparation each week.
Also, parents and coaches receive 8 simple manuals for 8 practical mental game lessons to help you understand and instill each lesson.
We have listened to your challenges about pregame mental preparation and now have the perfect solution.
The new Audio program will be on sale starting next week (Monday, January 16) and we’ll have more details then…
Please share this link with other parents or coaches that would appreciate our mental game tips!
Related Articles on Kids’ Mental Game:
- Pregame Mental Preparation For Kids
- The Power of Pregame Visualization
- Teaching Sports Kids Pregame Plans
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Improve Your Mental Game From Anywhere In The World
We’re certain that, as a parent, you want to help your child develop confidence and discipline in sports and life. And as a sports parent, you’d love for your children to reach their potential in sports. But encouraging your child to strive for greatness without pressuring them can be a challenge.
You can get expert mental coaching with us from anywhere. Meet with us via Zoom, Skype, FaceTime or phone call. With today’s video technology, we are able to connect with athletes and coaches all over the globe.
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