Building Confidence In Young Athletes1

Ultimate Sports Parent Radio interviews Scott Smith, an internationally ranked U.S. figure skater and the second alternate for the last Olympic games in Italy. He describes the mental game strategies he uses to return to skating after injuries. During the 2009 U.S. Figure Skating Championships a back injury the day of the event prevented him from competing. He shares his parents' role in helping him overcome adversity and succeed in figure skating.

Ultimate Sports Parent Radio interviews Jim Thompson, spokesman for Liberty Mutual Responsible Sports and founder of The Positive Coaching Alliance about his experience using mental game techniques while coaching high school girls' basketball. He guided his team through both group and individualized visualizations, which increased his players' confidence. Mental game coach Dr. Patrick Cohn provides commentary.

Ultimate Sports Parent Radio interviews Avi Stopper, founder and president of CaptainU, a website designed to teach high school athletes and their parents how to successfully negotiate the college recruiting process. It's critical to interact positively with college coaches on and off the field, he says.

Ultimate Sports Parent Radio interviews Dr. Cory Bank, an athlete-turned-psychologist whose practice focuses on sports psychology. He explains how to identify anxiety in young athletes and how to deal with it. It's important for parents to look past their own athletic hopes for their children and observe their kids objectively in order to identify anxiety.

Ultimate Sports Parent Radio interviews Robert Gotlin, director of orthopedic and sports rehab for Beth Israel Medical Center's Continuing Center for Health and Healing, and author of the book, "Dr. Rob's Guide to Raising Fit Kids." He discusses how coaches, parents and peers impose on kids conflicting expectations. This reduces kids' ability to enjoy sports. They're more likely to have fun during free play, under little pressure, he says. He also addresses ways to help kids get over mental injuries caused after a traumatic physical sports injury.

Ultimate Sports Parent Radio interviews Jason Kelly, founder of the Redding Vipers Baseball Club, about how kids can both work hard and have fun at the same time. Put kids in a position to learn by asking them questions and getting them to understand what their bodies are doing, he says.

Ultimate Sports Parent Radio interviews Mike Popovec, president and CEO of Recruit U, a company that helps high school athletes market themselves to colleges. He discusses the intense pressure many aspiring college athletes feel in order to impress recruiters on the one day they show up to the game. High school athletes can make opportunities for themselves by taking an active role in their recruitment by calling coaches, seeking out scholarships, and appealing to colleges by expanding their resume to include interests outside their sport, he says.

Ultimate Sports Parent Radio interviews Tom Farrey, ESPN reporter and author of the book "Game On: The All-American Race to Make Champions of Our Children." Farrey based his book on visits to youth sports teams around the country. He talks about how far parents will go to create child athlete entertainers. He offers solutions to the problems created by today's win at all cost mentality.

Ultimate Sports Parent Radio interviews John Woods, a partner with Speed To Win, about parents' role in performance training. He argues that parents often don't understand the difference between fitness and performance training and that the benefits of performance training last a lifetime in kids' muscle memory.

Ultimate Sports Parent Radio interviews Tommy Weber, a former pro baseball player who has coached Div. 1 teams for 22 years, about the value of unstructured play: how it enhances creativity and passion for the game--and how this affects sports kids' mental game.

Ultimate Sports Parent Radio Interviews Stephen Raghoobarsingh, Author of the new book, "The New Game Plan: Using Sports to Raise Healthy, Happy, and Successful Kids." He discusses how the "winning it at all costs" mindset in sports often leads to negative character traits off the playing field. We need to change our perception of success and use sports as a vehicle to develop character traits that can be beneficial and rewarding in all aspects of life, he says. Mental game expert Dr. Patrick Cohn provides commentary.

Ultimate Sports Parent Radio interviews Sean Brawley, a former top-150 world tennis pro and an expert in the "inner game" coaching philosophy. He discusses the inner game of sports parenting, which emphasizes open communication – how to talk so kids will listen and how to listen so kids will talk. Mental game coach Dr. Patrick Cohn provides commentary.

Ultimate Sports Parent Radio interviews Steve Horan, founder of sportsparent.net and an expert in community health improvement. He asks the question: With the numbers of kids involved in youth sports – 30 to 40 million at any given time – what are we as parents and coaches trying to accomplish and what is the educational purpose of sports? He explains how the end product of youth sports is to enhance life skills in order to help young athletes become happy and successful adults. Youth sports can teach skills in five areas of youth development: how to be mentally and physically healthy, how to have an ethical and competitive character, how to be a self-initiator, how to be part of a team, and finally how to lead.

Ultimate Sports Parent Radio Interviews Michael Sachs, Professor of Kinesiology at Temple University and author of the book, “The Total Sports Experience for Kids: A Parents’ Guide to Success in Youth Sports.” He discusses the importance of how parents and coaches define success in young athletes. As opposed to defining success on winning and losing, he argues that putting forth 100% effort and having fun are the most critical aspects to success for young athletes. It is the responsibility of the coaches and parents to create a positive environment that encourages kids to participate, push themselves, and have fun in order to optimize the sports experience.

Ultimate Sports Parent Radio interviews Fred Engh, founder and CEO of the National Alliance for Youth Sports, and author of the book, "Why Johnny Hates Sports". He discusses how youth sports programs remain largely unchecked, with no certification programs, coaches training, or established parent codes of conduct. He argues that the purpose of youth sports is not to win or make the all-star team, but to teach kids valuable life lessons of honesty, good-sportsmanship, and fair play for ethical and social development. His organization is reaching out to local youth sports facilities in order to develop fair leagues, good coaches, and supportive parents that give kids what they are looking for most: to have fun.

Ultimate Sports Parent Radio interviews Dan Doyle, founder and executive director of the Institute for International Sport and the co-author of the Encyclopedia of Sports Parenting about how to develop a sports parenting philosophy. He talks about how parents can help kids develop self-reliance and self-respect, when to call the coach—and when not to call the coach. He explains the difference between being involved in sports and over-involved. Mental game coach Dr. Patrick Cohn offers commentary.

Ultimate Sports Parent Radio interviews Michael Wood, chief fitness officer at KoKo Fitness and father of 7th Grade Juliea, who is a starter for her high school basketball team. Wood talks about his daughter’s mental game challenges and strengths. Mental Game coach Dr. Patrick Cohn talks about classic challenges for kids who play “up.”

Ultimate Sports Parent Radio interviews Joe Bouffard, active director of Youth Football USA, about the benefits of trained youth coaches. He says that it's hard, especially in football, to find coaches who can teach the technical sport. He also stresses the importance of finding coaches who have a teaching philosophy and want to instill in young athletes a love and passion for sports. Mental game coach Dr. Patrick Cohn provides commentary.

Ultimate Sports Parent Radio interviews Larry Lauer, Ph.D., director of coaching education and development for the Institute for the Study of Youth Sports, about how parents can strike a balance between motivating their kids in sports and pressuring them. His comments are based on a study funded by the US Tennis Society that applies to parents and kids in all sports, he says. Mental game coach Dr. Patrick Cohn provides commentary.

Ultimate Sports Parent Radio interviews Simon Mulverhill, executive director of Kids Sports Network--which provides certification programs for volunteer coaches—about how parents can best prepare themselves to coach young athletes. He explains why volunteer coaches should understand their reasons for coaching, how they can boost their knowledge of specific sports, the importance of teaching life skills--and why volunteer coaches may need insurance. Mental game expert Dr. Patrick Cohn provides commentary.