Youth coaches are critical to kids’ sports experiences. They can influence whether young athletes enjoy sports and want to continue to play. Some coaches can get kids excited about sports, while other coaches may discourage kids or take the fun out of sports. A good coach can keep kids’ interest in sports alive. What does a good coach look like? Good coaches are able to put winning in perspective. They realize that winning is not the most important part of sports. They see the importance of striving to win, which may be more important than achieving the win. Good […]
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08
Nov
2010
Successful and Unsuccessful Youth Coaches
05
Nov
2010
Being Supportive After a Loss
For sports kids, maintaining confidence after a loss is always a big challenge. Athletes tend to be critical of their performance when they lose the game or don’t play up to their own expectations. Parents can sometimes add “insult to injury” when they pick up on mistakes, get frustrated with their athletes’ performance, or unknowingly punish kids with the silent treatment. As a sports parent, it’s important to understand the mental game challenges athletes face after a loss. Here are the top five tips for being supportive after a loss: 1. The goal is to help your athletes maintain […]
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04
Nov
2010
Building Team Cohesion for Success
Individual talent alone won’t make a team successful. Team members must be able to understand and take advantage of each others strengths to be successful. That’s teamwork. Coaches play an important role in enhancing teamwork. They set the tone for the whole team. If the coach is committed to the team, players also see the importance of being committed. In contrast, coaches who are not as committed imply that the team isn’t that important. Coaches can encourage teamwork by treating each player equally. For example, a coach may have a team rule that if players miss practices, they don’t […]
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02
Nov
2010
Sports Parents: Coaching From the Sidelines
Too often, well-meaning parents live through their children and expect their kids to take on their own dreams and goals. They evaluate their child’s success or failure based on his or her performance–not his or her happiness. They are overly critical. And, often, coach too much from the sidelines. Rather than expressing enthusiasm by coaching from the sidelines and criticizing, parents need to take a step back. Try to understand why your child takes part in sports. Does he or she play to be with friends? Does your child play because she loves to be part of a team? […]
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01
Nov
2010
Winning Isn’t Everything, but it is Fun…
All kids want to win unless they purely participate for the social aspect of sports. Winning is fun. Most parents want their kids to be successful in sports. You might examine your motivation for wanting your child to be successful in sports. For example, do you want bragging rights? Or, do you want your children to gain confidence through sports that can be transferred to other areas of their lives? Do you want your kids to learn the power of discipline and hard work and how these positive qualities can translate into success? When kids are having fun and […]
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29
Sep
2010
Use Warm-ups to Focus Your Mind
All good athletes use a warm-up routine one hour before they play. Besides helping you get loose and limber, a warm-up routine has several psychological advantages. The first is that it helps you get focused to play. A warm-up routine helps click in your concentration and put on your game face. It is similar to a runner who stretches before a run or a pilot who performs a checklist to make sure everything is in good order before take-off. Second, this is an excellent time to put the concerns of your life behind you and prepare for the game. […]
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13
Sep
2010
Big League Pressure in Youth Sports
Little League Baseball is the largest youth sports organization in the World, and is well known for the Little League World Series. Year after year, youth baseball players dream of making the trip to Williamsport in mid-august to compete against the top little league teams in the world. Those of you, who are old enough to remember the 1982 Little League World Series, can appreciate the magnitude of this event, and how much nationalistic pride can rise from a Little League World Series Championship. In the summer of 1982, a little league team from Kirkland, Washington advanced to the […]
Read moreIs there a relationship between personality type and sport preference? How do those know what their sports personality might be? What do those who participate in the same sports have in common? In order to answer questions related to sports psychology, over five hundred athletes were tested and evaluated. To examine the relationship between personality types, sport preferences and performance, team and individual athletes’ personality profiles were designed. Results indicated that teams exhibit a predictable personality profile and that by understanding the psyche of the athlete, performance and team productivity can be enhanced. Optimal communication and performance can be […]
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05
Sep
2010
Motivation is the Key to Hitting Success
The motivation to succeed in baseball begins with an athlete’s dream or mission. Some athletes’ dreams started early in life when they fell in love with baseball. Other athletes recognized their talent and potential to play the game. No matter what fostered their dreams, they became actively engaged into their mission to be the best they could be. The best ball players in the world have an intense desire to be great, which is fueled by their childhood dreams of winning their first little league world series or winning the college world series. The childhood dreams fuel the drive […]
Read moreWe often see kids who excel in practice, but freeze up during games. This can be frustrating and confusing for parents and coaches. What’s going on in the young athlete’s mind, and what can sports parents and coaches do about it? First, sports parents and coaches should help young athletes understand that they create their own confidence destiny. If kids begin a game needing immediate results (such as getting the first hit or basket of the game), they’re hurting their confidence. It is critical to remind young athletes that they’ve been practicing to develop confidence for many years. Don’t […]
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