Youth sports can be a challenging experience for many kids, but there are 5 big tips sports parents can offer kids that will pay big dividends on the field. Sport psychologists regularly teach kids about the importance of mental toughness, a mindset that can actually help compensate for physical limitations. When kids are mentally tough, they play with confidence, greater motivation, and their resiliency increases, too. The following tips are designed to help you help your child improve mental toughness, and consequently improve the chances for on-field success:
- Attitude – While your child may not have any control over things like his height or eyesight, he has 100% control over his attitude. Remind your child about choosing a positive attitude everyday.
- Effort – You don’t have to be the best player on the team to give the best effort. Similar to attitude, kids control the amount of effort they give 100% of the time!
- Team – Learning to be a team player means picking up teammates, cheering, and doing all the little things to maintain positive team chemistry. Help your child embrace the “team” concept and soon you will see her feel comfortable with her teammates, and likely take this confidence to the field as well.
- Bounce back – There will always be failure to deal with in sports, so make sure you “normalize” failure as inevitable and one kids can learn from the experience. Rather than getting upset and throwing a tantrum, teach your child to channel the frustration into getting better for the future.
- Fun – The #1 reason kids play sports is to have fun, so do your part by making sure this happens as much as possible! Your attitude driving your child to practices and games makes a big difference, and a simple reminder to your child about having fun can go a long way.
Summer sports are now underway, but it’s not too late to integrate the tips above. Remember, while physical skills are important for sports success, so too are mental skills, so be sure to encourage kids to train in both areas for sport success.
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