Coaches and parents tune in – in all likelihood you have probably witnessed a youngster struggle performing a sport skill under pressure (i.e. nervously trying to make a free throw in the final seconds of a game), yet been unsure of how to help the kid learn from and improve upon the situation the next time out (Sport Success 360). In the majority of cases, coaches and parents work diligently to try and help young athletes overcome anxiety and perform their best, but while their heart is in the right place their teaching abilities may actually fall short.
For the rest of this article I am going to focus on a few of the more effective ways to help teach kids how to improve their mental toughness, reduce anxiety, increase self-confidence, and inevitably perform well under pressure based on sport psychology theories and findings. These suggestions are built upon the assumption that all parents and coaches want kids to learn these things, yet sometimes struggle with the best ways to teach kids how.
- When it comes to helping young athletes perform as they know they can in pressure situations, it’s always good to actually practice pressure situations whenever possible! For example, with the free throw situation I described earlier having a kid shoot free throws in an empty gym might help a little with skill acquisition, but that exercise does nothing if the youngster struggles with free throws at the end of games when opposing fans become hostile and the player feels the pressure of winning the game for his team. Instead, try and set up real game-like situations — like possibly have people make noise during free throw practice, or put a few seconds on the scoreboard so that the situation becomes more real.
- Shape sport skill acquisition with hearty praise and a lot of positive reinforcement. Punishment, or doling out penalties for poor play, is never recommended.
- Reinforce effort whenever possible. Even with all the practice in the world kids will still make mistakes, blow plays, and yes, occasionally lose games because of nerves and anxiety. One of the best ways to forge through these situations is to reinforce effort – even if the results aren’t always there.
- Help your child examine his or her fears. Yes, it is fear that is at the heart of “choking,” but interestingly it is irrational fear that is usually the real cause of anxiety. What I mean by this is that irrational fear (like when a kid nervously thinks about what mom or dad must think after he misses a play) causes as much or more anxiety than real fear does (like when a child is scared he will get hurt by the ball hitting him).
Young athletes really can improve their mental toughness and learn how to play better in the clutch, but this requires savvy parenting and coaching that incorporates real game-like situations, positive reinforcement, and rewards for effort. When coaches and parents buy-in to this approach, only then will the kids they coach and parent increase their self-confidence, and as a result reach their full athletic potential.
www.drstankovich.com
anxiety, choking, clutch, Coaching, confidence, focus, mental, parenting, psychology, sport, toughness
