I Made A Mistake... Now What?

I read this article from a sport psychology resource that I have know for years. Check it out:

Does your young athlete have trouble coping with mistakes? Do
your athletes check out during games because they can't let go
of mistakes? In fact, 35% of sports parents we surveyed said
that their young athletes struggle with letting go of mistakes.

In other words, if your kids can't let go of mistakes, this can
spiral into real "mental game" challenges in sports. When this
spiral begins, young athletes become frustrated, lose
confidence, and get angry or give up altogether.

Some parents have described this syndrome as "checking out."
Their kids stop caring because they are in the grips of
frustration and anger. We admit that this sounds harsh, but this
is the reality. In fact, some kids, like the one mentioned
below, are even threatened with getting kicked off their teams!

In order to be successful, your young athletes need to learn how
to let go of mistakes and remain composed. If they can't stay
composed, they risk not playing up to their potential. Then one
mistake snowballs into more mistakes, which snowballs into the
fear of more missed goals, missed putts, turnovers, lost
rebounds....and more bad performances.

This is what it looks like: A young basketball player begins a
game with high hopes. But after a few missed shots, he stops
shooting. He's afraid of missing more shots. He stops taking
risks and plays very tentatively. He's not very effective, and
starts to feel frustrated--even angry.

Check out this Link: http://www.kidssportspsychology.com/public/department66.cfm

~~~Thank me for posting this by the IMPLEMENTING IT! ~~~
Have a Crazy Athletic Day! -Ryan "Crazy Athletic" Bishel

Breathing Techniques

As a competitive level athlete, learning how too properly breathe can be one of your best assests. Is is very typical of athletes to hold their breath when contracting ther muscles during physical activity. This stops the flow of oxygen to your muscles. Think of pinching off a garden hose. So get in the habit of inhaling during the negative phase of an exercise and exhaling during the contraction phase of the exercise.

Another tip is to work on slowing down your breathing pattern during high intensity cardiovascular activity. When you can feel your heart beating through your chest, try to count 3-5 beats during both the inhale and exhale phase. Start at 3 and work up to 5.

I'll Leave you with this:
"Remember, you can accomplish anything you truly believe in. So find out what it is that you believe in."