Raising emotionally tough and resilient athletes in the high-pressured culture of youth sports is one of the greatest challenges facing parents today.

The high-pressure culture of youth sports can become burdensome for young athletes not yet equipped with the skills to process those demands.  Performance, dedication, consistency, and ultimately winning are all mandatory characteristics for athletes and the starting points for achieving success.  Raising tough and resilient athletes who can manage these pressures has become a challenge of critical importance for parents.

The following are techniques and strategies parents can implement to help kids develop the emotional toughness and resiliency needed for success over the long term.

Encourage a Growth Mindset

A growth mindset maintains the belief that intelligence and abilities can be developed and improved through effort, dedication, and a willingness to learn.  Teach your child to embrace challenges, view setbacks as opportunities for growth, and believe in their ability to improve through effort and perseverance. Foster a mindset that values hard work and resilience over innate talent.

Set Realistic Expectations

Help your child set realistic goals and emphasize the importance of progress over a sole focus on the outcome. Helping them break down larger goals into smaller, more manageable steps will build confidence and a willingness to tackle more significant challenges.  Encourage them to compete against themselves and strive for improvement against personal bests.

Teach Coping Skills

Equip your child with coping skills to handle the inevitable setbacks, failures, and disappointments. Teach them to analyze failures, identify their cause, make appropriate adjustments, and bounce back stronger. Encourage positive self-talk and teach relaxation techniques to manage stress and anxiety.

Model Resilience

Be a role model for resilience in your own life.  Show your child how you handle challenges, setbacks, and failures with grace and a positive attitude. Share your own experiences of overcoming difficulties and how they have contributed to your personal growth.

Foster Independence and Responsibility

Encourage your child to take ownership of their sports activities.  Let them set personal goals, make decisions, and manage their own training schedules to develop a sense of responsibility and independence.

Provide Supportive Feedback & Encouragement

Offer constructive and specific feedback to help your child identify areas for improvement. Focus on their effort, progress, and positive aspects of their performance, while avoiding excessive criticism or overly emphasizing mistakes.  Let them know that you believe in their abilities and that you are there to support them through thick and thin.

Foster a Supportive Environment

Create a supportive and positive home environment where your child feels free to take risks and make mistakes. Offer words of encouragement, praise their effort, and remind them of past successes to boost their confidence.

Encourage Multisport Participation

Encourage your child to participate in multiple sports and engage in various physical activities. This diversification promotes overall athleticism, reduces the risk of burnout, and enhances resilience by exposing them to varying challenges and experiences.

Teach Life Skills

Help your child understand that sports are not solely about winning but also about developing life skills. Emphasize the importance of qualities such as discipline, time management, perseverance, teamwork, and respect, all of which are valuable beyond the playing field.

It’s important to recognize that all young athletes are unique and in different stages of emotional development, making it essential to consider their individual needs, preferences, and developmental stage when applying these strategies.  When implemented, however, these techniques can help kids strengthen the emotional toughness and resiliency needed for success in youth sports over the long term.