Episode Details

👉 Young Athletes' Mental Toughness Course: https://www.successstartswithin.com/young-athlete-mental-toughness-course
💪 Free Confidence Training: https://youtu.be/lw7GuRIEEao
🧠 Mental Performance Coaching: https://www.successstartswithin.com/mental-performance-coaching
📚 Sport psychology and mental training articles: https://www.successstartswithin.com/blog

The fear of failure is defined by being afraid of making mistakes. The young athlete is afraid of what may happen if they make a mistake or mess up during a game.

It's not the mistake itself they're necessarily afraid of, rather, it's what happens after the mistake.

If you've noticed that your young athlete is playing with a lot of fear, would you say they've looked nice and relaxed recently, or a bit more tense during games?

My guess is they look more tense. You may even say they look stiff or rigid. Definitely not as relaxed and free as they have in the past.

That's because the fear of failure causes young athletes to play tense and timidly. Since they're so focused on what they don't want to have happen, they'll play tight due to fear.

When an athlete plays tight and timidly, they are not able to play as freely as they need to and their performances will suffer.

One common theme among young athletes who are dealing with the fear of failure is that they'll play better in practices than games.

During practice they feel like it's okay to make mistakes. It's practice, mistakes are meant to happen. But come game time it's an entirely different story.

Mistakes now become something to fear. They hold much more consequence and can result in them getting yelled at, benched, or feeling embarrassed. As a result, the young athlete's focus will be on not messing up, instead of playing well.

By playing timidly, they actually increase their chances of making mistakes, leading to a vicious cycle of fear. 

Which is why, if this is something your young athlete is struggling with, there are steps you can take to help them overcome this fear of failure and play freely.

Connect with Success Starts Within, LLC: 

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👉 Mental training courses : https://www.successstartswithin.com/mental-coaching-resources
👉 Sports Psychology Website: https://www.successstartswi

🧠 Mental Performance Coaching for Athletes: If you’re struggling with confidence, anxiety, fear of failure, or overthinking during games—or you’re a parent of an athlete dealing with that—I work 1-on-1 with athletes to help them perform freely and confidently.

Learn more about the program and see if it’s a good fit: https://www.successstartswithin.com/mental-performance-coaching/

🥇Team Mental Performance Coaching Program: https://www.successstartswithin.com/mental-coaching-for-teams/

👉 Confident Competitor Academy: Go from playing with fear & anxiety to playing with confidence in just 6 weeks!

👉 Mentally Tough Kid Course

📖 Mind Games Book: https://a.co/d/gXZfORN

📖 Athlete Mental Training Book: https://a.co/d/bfojamY

Free Training: Top 5 Mental Mistakes Athletes Make

*This podcast is for educational purposes only and does not constitute psychological or med