Kids sports psychology articles for sports parents, young athletes, and team coaches to improve and learn mental game performance and consistency.
How to Use Mental Imagery to Boost Performance Summary: Mental imagery is a key skill for young athletes to boost confidence and focus under pressure. Kids should practice visualization daily, tailoring it to their learning style, whether visual, auditory, kinesthetic, or tactile. Effective mental imagery involves relaxing, imagining positive outcomes, … Read Sport Psychology Tip
How to Move on After Mistakes Summary: Many young athletes struggle with the pressure to perform perfectly. This mindset can harm confidence and focus, making it hard to recover from mistakes. Learning to rebound from errors helps kids stay in the moment and maintain consistent performance. Many sports kids feel … Read Sport Psychology Tip
Anxiety in Young Athletes Summary: Young athletes often experience pregame anxiety, which can harm performance, focus, and enjoyment of sports. Anxiety can cause physical symptoms, tightness, and fear of taking risks. Developing a consistent pregame routine, using relaxation exercises, and focusing on the process rather than outcomes helps athletes manage … Read Sport Psychology Tip
How to Support Your Sports Kid Summary: Parents play a key role in their child’s mental game development. Their words and expectations can either build confidence or create pressure. Focusing on confidence, reinforcing mental game development, and emphasizing the process over outcomes helps young athletes perform better. In my work … Read Sport Psychology Tip
Dealing with Coaches Who Play Favorites Summary: Sports parents often worry when coaches who play favorites and give their children less playing time. The first step is to confirm whether favoritism is real by observing practices, games, and speaking with others. If concerns remain, parents have the right to respectfully … Read Sport Psychology Tip
What to do When Coaches Bully their Students Summary: Coaches play a powerful role in shaping young athletes’ confidence and mental health. So if coaches bully their sports kids, it can have a negative impact on the development of their young athletes. Some coaches believe shouting motivates athletes, but research … Read Sport Psychology Tip