Pembroke Pines

Building resiliency in junior athletes is more important than ever before. In modern society, youth athletes are raised in environments that are more comfortable and where immediate gratification is at their finger tips every step of the way. Although technology has its advantages, studies show that it has also made junior athletes more sensitive to the stressors of training and competition. Simply put, athletes emotionally feel struggles more than in the past.

Performance and results are the number one goals driven in sports society. These two facets of sports are at the forefront for so many athletes starting at a young age. Millions of young athletes every year are constantly bombarded by comparison of other athletes. Much comparison is done through the use of various metrics such as ranking, times, points, and more.

 At SPMI, almost every athlete’s goal is to achieve a peak performance state often referred to as a flow state or the zone. This mental state provides the maximum benefits for athlete, ensuring optimal mental performance. A peak performance state, often referred to as a “flow state” is when the athlete’s brain operates in a unique and highly efficient way.

As we prepare for Thanksgiving, athletes all over the US will be unknowingly practicing a powerful mental skill. This one mental skill often goes overlooked. In fact, most athletes don’t even consider it to be a mental skill, however, recent studies show that it has profound positive benefits that target multiple areas of the mental game. This one mental skill is called Gratitude.

When determining the underlying factors which lead to every athlete’s struggle there is a common mistake seen among much of the athlete community. This mistake if not understood early on may lead to an increase in poor performance by the athlete and in worse situations, complete burnout of the sport. As I write this article to you, I write this not out of judgement but out of compassion to help improve your role as an athlete, parent, coach, or caretaker. 

In sports as in life, people admire success. Often times success even becomes a measurement tool for one's overall self-worth in the world.

Unfortunately, this misinformed infatuation by society has lead to many athletes and individuals feeling unhappy and even as a failure when they fall short of reaching society's standard of success. More specifically, what I've encountered at SPMI is that the struggle of chasing success begins at a young age when the athlete starts gaining attention and recognition from his or her coaches, parents, team, and anyone around the sport.

One of the most important habits that we work on with athletes at SPMI is developing success by compounding mental toughness. Many athletes get caught up in the comparison trap where they look to see what their peers are doing and then replicate their training approach to the sport. Now in rare cases one of their peers could be exceptional among their training habits to where replicating them is beneficial to reaching their full potential.

One question many parents and coaches ask about when getting their athlete started on mental training is how young is too young? The answer to this question is based on several factors such as attention acuity, memory retention, and language development. The majority of the youngest athletes who start training at SPMI begin at ages 8 to 10 years old. Athletes under the age of 10 are also pre-evaluated to see which program they qualify for. SPMI's youth mental training program focuses more on behavioral skills training such as routine development, breathing techniques, and goal setting.

One of the most common questions asked at SPMI is why do some athletes get so emotional when under pressure? 

First, we must look at the root of an emotional response. Science has discovered that the number #1 reason why athletes have emotions is due to Survival. Emotions are there to help individuals survive because they help prepare the body for action.

One of the greatest challenges I face among some athletes who are new to the program at SPMI are those who struggle to push themselves hard enough to reach their goals. Many athletes, coaches, and even parents may interpret this lack of drive as laziness or lack of passion. However, in many cases, the lack of effort and commitment is not caused by laziness but instead by a lack of positive vision.