Building Confidence in Young Athletes

What's the downside of elite and travel teams for young athletes? These teams require parents to pay, and that creates a dicey relationship among parents, kids and coaches, says Hal Phillips, a former sports parent and youth sports coach, plus author of "Generation Zero: Founding Fathers, Hidden Histories and the Making of Soccer in America." 

On pay to play teams, kids often don't know where they stand. That's because coaches don't want to lose the income from having kids on their teams so aren't always completely open about their abilities, he argues.

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Sports parents need to show their young athletes that they care about more than the win.

That's the word from Wayne LaMarre, clinical professor and director of the athletic training program at the University of New England. He's also on staff for the Women's National Ice Hockey team.

Often, the elite hockey players worry that they'll be replaced by someone waiting in the wings if they make mistakes or get injured. This causes anxiety and makes it difficult to form a cohensive team. LaMarre and his associates create an "oasis" for these players. "We care about the wins and losses but care more about you--your physical and mental health," he tells the players.

Sports parents also need to create an oasis and show they care. LaMarre gives tips for doing this.

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Sun Sachs can speak from experience about burnout in sports. The CEO and founder of Rewire Fitness--which helps athletes develop mental fitness--began bike racing as a young kid, and worked his way up to an elite level. At the age of 26, he quit, and couldn't look at a bike for more than eight years.

Now he helps other athletes focus on mental fitness. The Rewire Fitness platform is based on neuroscience and sports psychology. 

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For college recruiters, players' mental game is important. Recruiters learn about kids' mental game skills--or deficiencies--by talking to high school coaches, watching game videos and watching both parents and players at games.

Keirsten Sires, CEO and founder of 2aDays--which provides college coach ratings and experiences from athletes--gives tips about how young athletes can demonstrate that they have a solid mental game. She also warns parents about how their behavior can undermine a young athlete's ability to be recruited.

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Lauren Cox was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at a young age, and she worried that her health condition would crush her dreams of becoming a high-level athlete.

But she didn't let diabetes undermine her dreams. She developed mental game skills that helped her thrive in basketball. 

Her mental game tips can help most young athletes address challenges associated with adversity.

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Plus-size kids face a number of challenges in youth sports, including feeling uncomfortable in ill-fitting clothes, being the targets of bullies and feeling ignored. Pam Luk, a former plus-size young athlete who has launched a clothing line for these athletes, gives parents and coaches tips for ensuring the kids' have a positive experience.

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When sports kids experience overuse injuries, it often hurts their mental game, often leading to burnout.

Robert Weil, a sports podiatrist and host of the Sports Doctor Radio Show, says it's important for parents and coaches to understand the issues that lead to overuse injuries and burnout. Pressure to continue playing after an injury is one problem, he says.

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It's easy to assume that young athletes are most interested in winning games and competitions. But that's not what the research says, according to Bill Eckstrom, CEO of Ecsell Sports and author of The Coaching Effect. In focus groups, athletic directors and coaches say that a positve sports experience is what kids desire most. 

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Understanding instuctions from coaches is one of the challenges sports kids with ADHD and ADD face. Jazlyn Pipkins, founder and owner of Jazletics, gives parents and coaches tips for helping kids addresss focusing issues. For example, they should look the coach in the eye and concentrate on key words, she says.

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At age 19, Cliff Meidl survived an electric shock that prompted his doctors to say they needed to amputate both legs above the knees.

But his mother did some research and discovered Dr. Malcolm Lesavoy, a plastic surgeon and clinical professor of plastic surgery at UCLA School of Medicine. Lesavoy saved Meidl's legs, and then Meidl began the tough journey of learning how to walk again.  In this episode, Meidl describes how he overcame feelings of shame, built his confidence and became an Olympic kayaker.

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If young athletes embrace this 3-point pre-game plan, they'll experience more success--in and out of sports, says Jazlyn Pipkins, founder and owner of Jazletics LLC. She's a virtual peak performance mentality coach and former high school and college athlete.

The winning three tasks are meditation, visualization and affirmation. In this podcasta, Pipkins goes into detail about how athletes should complete these tasks--and the mistakes they often make doing it.

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Young athletes often drop out of sports if they can't keep up with the status quo and pay for travel teams or expensive camps, clubs and training, says Joey Grant, former Division 1 football player and CEO of GMTM, a social network that aims to increase access to sports for people of all ages. He provides tips on how to keep kids in sports.

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Visualization and deep breathing are critical mental game skills, says Dion von Moltke, former professional race car driver and co-foudner of Blayze, which connects amateur athletes one-on-one with professional athletes. He describes how mental game training gave his racing career a boost.

Young athletes are often not prepared for the transitions ahead of them, which may include moving from high school to college sports, playing Division 2 instead of Division 1, or being injured and not playing at all. 

Justin Lott, CEO of VarCity, tells how to help young athletes prepare for these transitions, which can be devastating.

Many sports kids don't understand what mental game training involves, and resist it. They think it's some kind of therapy. Truth is, mental game training is education. It's all about teaching kids how to boost skills that benefit them in sports and life. Mental game expert Dr. Cohn explains how to help kids embrace this important type of training.

About 70% of kids drop out of sports by the time they are 14, and of those, twice as many girls drop out than boys.  That's the word from Nicole McCormack, general manager of brand solutions at TeamSnap, a technology platform for sports parents and coaches.

Why do so many girls drop out and what can parents and coaches do to keep them in sports?

Honest Game, a sports tech company, conducted research in 12 states and found that about 50% of high schools lack an educational pathway to play college sports. Joyce Anderson, co-founder and COO of Honest Game, explains what the NCAA requires and how Honest Game can help student athletes.

As an attorney, Judie Saunders represents youth athletes in civil court, mediations and arbitrations. Bullying by coaches and physical, verbal and sexual abuse are some of the issues she addresses for sports kids.

She gives sports parents tips about the legal avenues they can pursue for kids who don't feel safe in sports.  Her top tip for sports parents: If kids are suffering from abuse or bullying, remove them from the team.

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New rules and regulations that aim to prevent concussions can teach sports kids to respect their opponents. And they don't undermine mental game skills like determination, focus and intensity.

That's the word from Thomas Heiden, who played college hockey at Notre Dame University and has coaches many different sports for a few decades. He's also a trial lawyer with Latham & Watkins who has handled high-profile youth sports cases.

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Kids are coming to Skyhawks Sports Academy camps with confidence issues, says Sarah Kelley-Reid, a sports parent and East Coast regional manager of the organization, which provides which provides skill-based sports experiences for kids age 4-14.

The organization addresses confidence issues by focusing on building life skills, including respect, teamwork and inclusion.

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