Do your young athletes seek approval from their peers and coaches in order to feel confident about their abilities in sports? This is a common mental game challenge for young athletes! Sports parents must understand that athletes who need others to feel confident often become anxious or fear failing in competition.
Keep in mind that most of the time your athletes are “reading the minds” of others and don’t really know if others are actually judging them. Ask your kids to first recognize that they harbor such worries. They should then learn to refocus and tell themselves that it doesn’t matter what others think when distracted by these thoughts.
Check out The Ultimate Sports Parent website for more sports parenting tips.