The Mental Game or Condition – How This Affects Young Athletes

Playing Multiple Sports May Mean Fewer Youth Injuries - Scripps Health

Some parents would like their children to play certain sports because of family history or social influence without even asking the child if he is interested as well. Let’s say that adults are sometimes wrong for dragging their kids to do some things that they don’t like and focus only on what they think is right for their child. This means that some adults fail to consider what their young kids truly feel like doing when it comes to sports.

Maybe your dad or mom wants you to excel in such activities because that was once their passion and would like you to continue or do what they can’t finish. However, you could be different from them and interested in other things, such as music or painting but you were afraid to disobey them that’s why you agreed to play sports. Well, at first you could be excited because you’ll meet other kids as well, though you may feel sadness, after all, since this isn’t what you want to do.

This is the reason why student athletic performance could be affected and it is an important thing that some parents failed to consider. The youth of today are our future athletes so parents and coaches must prepare them physically, mentally, and emotionally. They may experience things that might bring them down so let these children learn how to face different situations not only through physical activities.

Mental Conditioning

Coaches also train young athletes to boost their mental skills and be familiarized with these in a way where the child can optimize or incorporate these when playing. In this way, the child can enhance his performance since he can focus and have more confidence no matter how intense the game is. Boosting one’s mental condition would be beneficial to every player regardless of their level or rank in competitions.

Your children will be joining activities with the other team members and it is not necessary to be in the same kind of sports. The team-building activities focus on problem-solving or task completion without needing to talk. You might be thinking that this is impossible because the members must help each other so they must talk.

However, there are situations where you have to close your mouth because your opponent should not hear your plan or move. In this case, they have to develop communication skills through eye movements or facial expressions that only your team members can understand. Sometimes you don’t even need to make such actions because your team trusts you and they already know what your next move would be – visit https://destinysodyssey.com/performance-improvement/mental-conditioning/# to read more information.

How this is Practiced

When in times of actual performances and training as well, they can recite phrases, such as “I can do this” which would help them build and gather courage or confidence. It’s through mental imagery that they can visualize success and even professionals do this.

Therefore, it must be practiced regularly. Young athletes must adopt such positivity and turn it into a habit that can be applied to their daily lifestyles. This will also help in improving the mental condition, physical, and technical skills that will lead to better performance.

Parents should know that mental conditioning brings out the potentials that their children may have been hiding so they have to talk to the kids in a good way when they are facing situations that could be stressful at their age. Adults are supposed to be the first to understand how it feels like after losing or getting injured because this decreases their confidence so turn this experience to be positive through comfort and communication. In this way, they can easily recover and their mental skills will be tougher.

Set Healthy Expectations for Your Young Athlete - Dr. Jim Taylor

Benefits

You should be aware that sports benefit your kid’s mental health because this is an ideal way to enhance self-esteem, discipline, and social skills. When they are spending time with sports, they won’t think about doing dangerous activities or joining people who may lead their wrong decisions. Do not forget that adolescence years are quite challenging and there could be a lot of factors around them that may cause stress.

Depending on one’s mental and physical status, games, exercises, or sports may bring both negative and positive effects on the child’s well-being. That’s because they are still in the developing stage so they learn from what they can see from the adults and what they are taught to do. So based on experience, they may develop fears and when they fail we should not pressure them but allow them to learn how to cope.

At a young age, parents and coaches must guide and support them. In this way, they will be comforted and will think that failures are not reasons to give up. This only shows that mental conditioning is not only a part of their training but also for them to grow as a better person. For more helpful ways you can help your young athlete, please see the resource below.

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Mind Training and Techniques 

Sometimes this approach used in training mental health and physical activities may lead to some conflicts. That’s why it is not always easy to figure out if the child is being pushed too hard. So the best thing to do is to ask the children if they are happy with what they are doing before judging them.

We cannot push them to do things that they dislike so our priority is to let them choose the activities of their choice. When playing certain games make them feel better then push it but if this is the reason why negative attitudes and behaviors show up, then find ways to treat the issue. This is the only way for him to be happy with such activities for a longer term – check this out for more tips.

The DON’Ts

Your children are different from you so don’t relieve what you can’t do through them. If you excel in certain sports, then don’t expect your child to be like you. I guess it is better to let him choose what he wants and enjoys doing because that is where he can show his best.

Don’t teach a young athlete to find something or someone to blame after failing to win or if you think he did not do his best. Even when they turned out to be professional athletes, they can’t be perfect. Therefore, let them learn from their mistakes and experiences instead of blaming the equipment, other team members, coaches, referees, or location.

You should not push your kids too much because that may lead to resentment because to be in such a situation is suffocating. What’s disturbing their minds, is when they are trying so hard but they can’t do it well. These kids are thinking that they are just disappointments and they could carry this until they grow older.