How To Motivate Young Athletes For Youth Sports Coaches
Channel: Mental Toughness Trainer
Date: 2012-03-14

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How To Motivate Young Athletes For Youth Sports Coaches http:www.mentaltoughnesstrainer.com/coaches

This is the next video in the series of talks on Mental Toughness, Craig, the Mental Toughness Trainer did at the Pacific Northwest Coaching Conference on How To Motivate Young Athletes For Youth Sports Coaches.

We will move on to determination.  How do you get athletes motivated?  How do you get them to want to show up on days when they don't really feel like it?   You have got to help them find their "why?" and mirror back to them.  "Why are you doing this?"  

Now, when I ask athletes this, this is what they usually say, "Well, I want to get into college."  That's nice.  Why do you want to get into college?  
And a lot of times they never thought past that.  What you can do is help them to think more about the details if what it means to go to college.  

Then you could ask, "Why do you just want to go to any college?"  Do you just want to go to community college?  There is nothing wrong with that, but what is cool about that?  If that is what you want to do, do they have a special program there you are excited about?  Or is it because you can live close to home?  Or do you want to go to a D-1 college?  And what would be great about that for you?"  

Get them to spell it out.  Look at it.  Write it down.  Revisit it every single day.  We forget that kids get stuck on what's wrong with me.  Comparing themselves, "I don't know if I can beat this guy today.  I don't know if I'm going to repeat the fault I did last week".  Get them to look at their list of what they want... I actually tell my clients I want to see the list.  I have them bring it in.  I want you to put it next to your bed.  I want you to look at it every single day.  And as you are looking at it, you are thinking and letting whatever comes up in detail.  

I remember one young woman said, "I love the uniforms they wear.  I want to wear that red and gold."  Great! "I love the coach that is on that team."  Think about that.  Look at that.   The thing is this has got to be habitual and a daily practice.  You know most kids don't think about this very often.  

Once you assign this to them and you see them lagging or you see them not really putting their all into a practice, you can remind them "... red uniforms!"  Just like that. Brings them right on back.

Go to SportsMentalToughness.com to get your free video training and guided visualization MP3 on how to perform under pressure.  I'm Craig Sigl, the Mental Toughness Trainer.