Parent

Do your young athletes start to doubt themselves and lose confidence when they are criticized or given feedback in sports? One soccer player puts it this way: “I’m often challenged mentally during practice if a teammate tells me how I can’t do a certain thing, such as properly marking my opponent. I end up questioning my ability […]

Adolescent eating habits are influenced by many factors every day, so how can we steer them toward healthy behaviors? Nutrition plays a significant role during adolescence due to the many factors. Rapid physical growth, hormonal fluctuations, and developmental changes taking place in the body are only a few. It’s our job to guide our teens […]

Team cohesion is essential to every sport, including individual sports. “Believing that your qualities are carved in stone – which is part of having a fixed mindset – discourages risk-taking and revision. People with a fixed mindset avoid challenging situations that might lead to failure because success depends upon protecting and promoting their set of […]

Dear Swim Mom, I feel like my 12-year-old daughter is ready to be moved up. She’s mature for her age and faster than the other kids in her group. She’ll be turning 13 in a couple months. I mentioned it to her coach after practice and I didn’t get much of an answer. I think […]

A sherpa is the guide for the mountain-climbing journey and their goal is to see that the climber reaches the top, or their peak. Are you a sherpa, snowplow or drone parent? I recently read an article, spurred by the recent college admission scandals, that examined these parenting styles. If you haven’t heard about them, catch […]

Certain behaviors, concepts and characteristics can help leaders as they seek to do their best for their communities

COVID-19 has sidelined thousands of youth sports teams, programs, schools and millions of young athletes.

Just as you can pick out your son or daughter’s voice in a crowded room, your child can recognize your voice from anywhere on the field or court.

“Anything we can do to give kids diversity in physical and physiological ways is a win,” says Steve Smith, PhD. Smith is a professor of clinical psychology at University of California, Santa Barbara and focuses on working with young athletes and parents,

Sports can provide so much more beyond the field. They can give us opportunities to grow as people.