Building Confidence in Young Athletes

Recruiters and college coaches look for a number of mental game skills when they're evaluating athletes, says David Kmiecik, senior recruiting manager for Next College Student Athlete (NCSA). He describes how recruiters identify these traits and answers the question: How can athletes (and their parents) look their best in front of recruiters and college coaches?

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Perfectionist sports kids are among the people most likely to seek help from Audrey Grunst, LCSW, a mental performance coach, owner of Simple Bee Counseling and former mental performance coach for the Northwestern University women's volleyball team. 

How do help perfectionists? Start by telling them you love them, no matter what!

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Teams can keep score, even when players are young, and the players will still have fun and learn physical and mental game skills.

That's the message from former Walt Disney Studios executive Sasha Graham, a sports mom, former youth sports coach and author of "Whitney Wins Everything." They're more likely to be good team players and learn how to cope with losses and mistakes, she says.

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Baseball can be a "self-esteem destroying sport" for kids because mistakes are a big part of th game, says Josh Thole, former catcher for the New York Mets and Toronto Blue Jays.

But parents can help ensure the sport doesn't hurt their kids' self-esteem, he says.  First of all, they shouldn't focus on mistakes, but instead, should concentrate on helping kids move passt mistakes, he says.

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Pickleball is growing quickly as a youth sport, with many schools offering it for the first time.

The sport is easy to learn, doesn't require much equipment and is accessible to kids of all income levels. It offers the opportunity to build confidence and make new friends.

He describes his worries about his own daughter, age 7, and what he's doing to ensure girls and women have equal opportunities in sports.

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What are the habits of supportive sports parents? Sharkie Zartman, a colllege professor, UCLA and USA national team volleyball athlete, author, coach and radio host give tips for sports parents.

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A study by the Aspen Institute and Utah State University--commissioned by TeamSnap--revealed what parents want most from youth sports and how the pandemic affected kids' ability to meet those goals. 

TeamSnap's study showed that parents, most of all, want kids to have fun, said Peter Frintzilas, CEO of TeamSnap, a youth sports management app.

How can parents help kids whose confidence and performance were undermined by the pandemic?

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That's the word from Meredith Whitley, PhD, associate professor in Adelphi's School of Health Sciences and co-editor of the Journal for Sport Development.

She gives tips for building connection and giving kids more control of their sports experience.

Learn more at The Ultimate Sports Parent

Find Whitley's work at Whitley's bio page at Adelphi

Comminicating and connecting with sports kids is an important part of being a sports parent. Harley Rotbart, pediatrician, sports parent and author of the bestselling "No Regrets Parenting" says it's important for parents to take advantage of the opportunities to connect with kids while helping them participate in youth sports. The car ride is one opportunity, he says.

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In their efforts to help sports kids develop a growth mindset, parents and coaches should keep in mind that giving too many sweeping compliments can get kids "stuck" thinking they don't need to grow in certain areas of sports, says Michaela Renee Johnson. She's a bestselling author and a top iTunes podcaster with her "But Why?" podcast, which encourages people to look at life with a growth mindset. She's also a licensed therapist.

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