Motiv Girl
01-13-2011, 07:56 PM
Talent is over-rated in youth sports.
That's the word from Kirk Mango, a youth sports coach, national
champion, three-time All-American and Hall of Fame athlete.
As a young athlete, Mango didn't stand out as being especially
talented, he says. But he was passionate and committed--two
qualities that are more important than talent, he says.
If parents and kids assume talent is inborn, and that young
athletes can't improve much beyond the limits of their talent,
they're restricting themselves, Mango says. "This lends itself to
the idea that one has less control over how good they can get at
something. It is an automatic excuse for failing," he says.
Focusing on the mental game, on the other hand, is critical, says
Mango. The mental game side is all about what the athlete believes,
he says. "This belief is what makes the biggest difference in how
athletes act…Attitude and belief about what one can accomplish are
essential to any possibility of achieving anything."
Young
athletes' mental games are just as important as their physical
abilities. Without confidence, kids will not realize their full
potential in sports.
For you as sports parents, it's not always easy to convince kids
that their mental game is important...
When kids invest in their mental game, he says, they take
control of their sports destiny rather than assuming they can only
go as far as their talent allows. (link below).
In addition, you as sports parents and coaches can explain to young
athletes the many benefits of sports psychology.
With mental game training, athletes improve their consistence,
boost their confidence, improve their focus and learn how to
practice smarter.
Remind them that they're not broken or dysfunctional if they choose
to embrace mental game training. Many pros rely on sports
psychology to improve their confidence and performance.
Be sure to talk about mental game training as another form of
training--like physical training. It helps athletes perform their
best. How you present this information to your athletes influences
how they think about it. For example, you wouldn't want to call
them "head cases" who need their heads examined! That's not what
mental training is about. It's about learning new skills that help
athletes thrive in many different kinds of situations.
That's the word from Kirk Mango, a youth sports coach, national
champion, three-time All-American and Hall of Fame athlete.
As a young athlete, Mango didn't stand out as being especially
talented, he says. But he was passionate and committed--two
qualities that are more important than talent, he says.
If parents and kids assume talent is inborn, and that young
athletes can't improve much beyond the limits of their talent,
they're restricting themselves, Mango says. "This lends itself to
the idea that one has less control over how good they can get at
something. It is an automatic excuse for failing," he says.
Focusing on the mental game, on the other hand, is critical, says
Mango. The mental game side is all about what the athlete believes,
he says. "This belief is what makes the biggest difference in how
athletes act…Attitude and belief about what one can accomplish are
essential to any possibility of achieving anything."
Young
athletes' mental games are just as important as their physical
abilities. Without confidence, kids will not realize their full
potential in sports.
For you as sports parents, it's not always easy to convince kids
that their mental game is important...
When kids invest in their mental game, he says, they take
control of their sports destiny rather than assuming they can only
go as far as their talent allows. (link below).
In addition, you as sports parents and coaches can explain to young
athletes the many benefits of sports psychology.
With mental game training, athletes improve their consistence,
boost their confidence, improve their focus and learn how to
practice smarter.
Remind them that they're not broken or dysfunctional if they choose
to embrace mental game training. Many pros rely on sports
psychology to improve their confidence and performance.
Be sure to talk about mental game training as another form of
training--like physical training. It helps athletes perform their
best. How you present this information to your athletes influences
how they think about it. For example, you wouldn't want to call
them "head cases" who need their heads examined! That's not what
mental training is about. It's about learning new skills that help
athletes thrive in many different kinds of situations.