In my life coaching practice, I see many children who are playing high-level sports. The children and teens play Academy football, swim for Great Britain or play tennis for their County. These children have grit and are determined to do their best when they are in that sporting environment, whether training or competing. They want to be great all the time and can get very disappointed if they have a bad day, game or race.
A child playing competitive sport needs to be super resilient and have good healthy self-esteem. Children being resilient is important otherwise self-doubt will creep in and they will start to question, ‘Why am I here?’ and that can affect their performance as they don’t try as hard or give it their 100%. A child with self-doubt will feel like an imposter and that they don’t deserve to be where they are now. They compare themselves to the other children and don’t see themselves as good/talented and, of course, thinking that way will not help in their performance. They need to believe that they are worthy of their place in the team, After all, if they weren’t then they would not have been asked by a coach or manager to be a part of it.
How Positive Thinking Shapes Future Champions
They need to challenge negative thinking that stops them from progressing. Encourage them to think positive thoughts like:
- I was asked to be here because I have the skill
- I was asked because I have talent
- I am just as good as my team-mates
- If I was not good enough, I would not be here
- All the hard work and determination has given me this opportunity
- Enjoy the game and give it my best
- Believe I have talent and I deserve to be here as much as everyone else playing with and against me
If you think your child would benefit from a life coaching session to challenge negative thinking around sports participation, please feel free to contact me.
