How To Support Your Young Athlete in Overcoming Self-Criticism

Do you notice your young athletes being overly hard on themselves? After a mistake or a tough game, do they tend to beat themselves up?

When kids constantly criticize themselves, it takes a toll on their confidence, motivation, and performance.

This self-criticism creates a harmful cycle: a poor performance leads to self-criticism, which then further lowers confidence and motivation, resulting in continued poor performance.

Breaking this cycle begins with helping kids shift their self-talk.

It's natural for kids who invest a lot of time and effort into their sport to feel frustrated when things don't go well. Their initial emotional reactions indicate their passion for the game.

The real issue arises when these negative responses persist.

When young athletes continuously bombard themselves with self-criticism, one bad game can snowball into a series of poor performances. A single mistake can turn into a slump, and a simple error can lead to more mistakes.

But what does this excessive self-criticism actually achieve for kids? It doesn't make them better players.

To break this cycle, kids need to change their self-talk as a crucial first step towards improvement.

Encourage them to consider how they would support a struggling teammate. Would they advise their teammate to give up? Would they tell them they're doomed to fail for the rest of the season?

Certainly not. Instead, they would highlight their teammate's strengths, encourage them to keep working hard, and assure them that success is within reach.

Sports kids should adopt the same positive mindset for themselves.

Baltimore Orioles manager Brandon Hyde has been offering words of encouragement to rookie catcher Adley Rutschman, who has been grappling with disappointment over his early performance in the major leagues.

Despite batting .149 in 12 games and making two throwing errors since his promotion from Triple-A, Hyde continues to deliver positive messages to help Rutschman regain his offensive prowess. Hyde remains confident in Rutschman's abilities as a major league player.

"I told [Rutschman] when he first got here, 'I just want you to relax. It’s going to be impossible to relax but relax as best you possibly can and have fun with it.' It just takes adjustments, and it takes a little bit of time, and he’s doing just fine," said Hyde.

Hyde understands that positive reinforcement breeds positive performance.

"I know how hard it’s going to be and difficult it is, and he just has to kind of get over the early stage of being a major league player," said Hyde. "It’s not easy. I just think support, that’s what we’re going to do, and that’s what we’re here for is to stay positive with him."

When kids remind themselves to be patient, they exhibit more patience during games. When they believe they can succeed at the next level, they perform better.

To cultivate patience, young athletes should adopt the same supportive language they would use for a struggling teammate.

Encourage sports kids to develop positive self-talk off the field that they can apply on the field. Remind them to say to themselves, "Stay patient, let the game come to me."

Great Video About The Power of Self Talk with NFL Players

Stay resilient and find your flow state!

Coach Dave

Founder Flow State Mentality

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