How Coaches' and Parents' Expectations Hurt Athletes

Youth coach Doug Donaldson says he knows intuitively when one of his young athletes feels pressured by a parent’s expectations. And he also knows the problems such well-meaning expectations can create in young athletes.

For example, one of his player’s mothers wants the child to play goalie in Lacrosse. But when the mother isn’t listening, the boy says he wants to play defense. “It’s a real quandary for him. He’s looking for Mom and worrying about what Mom thinks.”

Donaldson says he can sense when his young athletes are driven to do something to meet their parents’ expectations. They feel pressured. “This affects their passion and their interest,” he says.

How do parents’ and coaches’ expectations affect kids’ passion and interest? Not in good ways. Not in ways that improve their mental game–or performance.

Read more… How Coaches' and Parents' Expectations Hurt Athletes at Youth Sports Psychology

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Peak Performance Sports Launches Hockey Psychology Tips

Peak Performance Sports and Dr. Patrick Cohn launches http://www.hockey-psychology.com/ for players, coaches, and hockey parents. Hockey Psychology Tips helps junior to professional hockey players improve confidence, focus, composure, and boost mental toughness for practice and games. Dr. Patrick Cohn is a master mental game coach with over 20 year of experience helping athletes and teams succeed using sports psychology strategies. Peak Performance Sports is the online leader in the delivery of sports psychology programs, products, and strategies for athletes. For more information about how to boost your players mental game of hockey visit, Hockey Psychology Tips.

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Peak Performance Sports Launches Baseball Mental Game Tips for Players, Coaches, and Parents

October 12, 2009--Orlando, FL. Dr. Patrick Cohn, sports psychology expert and owner of Peak Performance Sports (www.peaksports.com) launched a new baseball web site to help players, coaches, and sports parents improve mental toughness in baseball. Visitors can read mental game of baseball articles, watch baseball psychology videos, and download a free report to enhance mental toughness in baseball.

Visit Dr. Cohn’s Baseball Mental Game Tips to improve you mental toughness for baseball.

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Melanie Oudin's Secret Weapon: Mental Toughness

Is 17-year-old Melanie Oudin the real deal? Most experts, such as Brad Gilbert think so. Read on to discover her biggest weapon...

If you have seen Melanie Oudin’s remarkable 3-set wins, you have witnessed her big-time comebacks against top players in the world.

How is she’s pulling out those matches come-from-behind victories? Is she that talented or skilled? Or is it sheer grit and determination?

To beat the top players, it's all of the above. But I left out her most important weapon--and it's not her ability to run down balls consistently--it's her mental toughness!

“I think the biggest weapon can be mental toughness. It doesn't have to be a stroke or a shot or anything like that. If you're mentally tough out there, then you can beat anyone. I think that's what I really did well today and I've done in my past matches. I'm so focused and I fight super hard. So it's not going to be easy to beat me or I'm not going to back down at all,” said Oudin.

What is mental toughness in tennis?

Read Melanie Oudin’s Secret Weapon: Mental Toughness at Sports Psychology for Tennis

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Tennis Mind Games: Early US Open Exits – Is This Mental or Physical?

Have you watched the action at the U.S. Open? A lot of surprises this year. We’ve seen some early exits by top seeded players… Are these early exits caused by a poor mental game or physical game?

 

For example, Ana Ivanovic lost to Kateryna Bondarenko of Ukraine in the opening round of the US Open. In this case, her first round exit was caused by a poor mental game, as she confessed…

 

“I think I’ve been thinking about everything too much and trying to address lots of issues with my game,” Ivanovic said.

 

“My fitness is at one level, mind at another, my game is at another level. I think these all these things have to marry to get into the right direction and have to fit.”

 

What’s the culprit? Ivanovic has lost trust in her game. She got sidetracked with too many methods or solutions…

 

Read Early US Open Exits – Mental or Physical at Sports Psychology for Tennis>>

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