Sports Kids Should Follow Their Dreams, Says Former Professional Golfer
Building Confidence in Young Athletes
Release Date: 12/09/2025
To Build Sports Kids' Confidence and Motivation, Focus on Identity
Building Confidence in Young Athletes
Too often, sports kids see their identity as being athletes, said Tiffany Yvonne, founder of Playmaker Solutions, where she helps young athletes build emotional intelligence and confidence. When their identity is all about sports, they can quickly lose confidence if they make mistakes or lose games. "When you know who you are beyond the sport, then a bad game doesn't affect your self-worth," she said. To answer the question, "Who are you?" they should focus on what they love--beyond just sports. Visit Tiffany at Email host Lisa Cohn with podcast guest ideas: Subscribe to this podcast: ...
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How Sports Kids Can be Trained to be Confident
Building Confidence in Young Athletes
Confidence in young athletes is a trainable outcome rooted in self-awareness, disciplined consistency, targeted subconscious programming (visualization with emotion) and supportive adult influences. Sports kids should combine clear goals, intentional mental practice and persistent physical work to become resilient and high-performing, said Chris Harris, a mindset and elite performance expert. Learn more about Harris at Learn more about host Lisa Cohn at
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How Concussions Affect Sports Kids’ Brains, Bodies and Families
Building Confidence in Young Athletes
When sports kids experience concussions, they don’t just affect kids’ brains, they affect their bodies and even their families, said Robert Baric, a chiropractor and member of the Brain Injury Association of North Carolina. A concussion can change kids’ heart output, sleep and hormonal balance, for example. And it can affect the family, or, as Baric says, create a “traumatic family injury.”Parents may have to take time off work to care for the child or teen who experienced the concussion. Other children in the family don’t get as much attention while the parents are focused on...
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Creating Balance in the Intense World of Youth Sports
Building Confidence in Young Athletes
How can sports parents create well-rounded kids in youth sports, which can be hyper-specialized and intense? David Murray's book, Soccer Dad, is the story of a "soccer-ignorant, sports-ambivalent writer who saw his daughter from the kiddie leagues through the travel-sports gauntlet to a coveted Division I scholarship. And then realized his work had only begun," says his book's Amazon description. In this interview, he discusses the challenges of helping kids find a balanced life when they're immersed in the youth sports world. He suggests: --Introduce larger heroes (Muhammad Ali,...
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Quiet Leaders in Youth Sports are Consistent, Calm and Prepared
Building Confidence in Young Athletes
True leaders in sports don’t need the spotlight. They earn trust through preparation, emotional control and how they show up every day—not by being the loudest voice, said Dan Gold, a sports dad, former surgeon and businessman and the author of Game Changers. The foundation of quiet leadership is emotional regulation. When pressure rises, strong leaders stay steady rather than escalating emotionally, he said. Guest: Dan Gold, author of Send podcast episode ideas to Subscribe to and rate this podcast on Visit our blog at Visit host Lisa Cohn at
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Why High Sports Performance Can Lead to Poor Mental Health
Building Confidence in Young Athletes
High performance in sports doesn't necessarily translate into mental well-being, said Hania Taduran, a former Division I beach volleyball player and founder of the nonprofit Breaking Barriers, which aims to redefine the narrative about mental health in athletics. During her college career at the University of the Pacific, especially during COVID isolation, she and her teammates experienced mental health challenges, including anxiety, depression, eating disorders and burnout. Fear of stigma, losing scholarships, or being seen as weak prevented many athletes from seeking help, said Taduran, who...
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The Consequences of High Costs and Expectations in Youth Sports
Building Confidence in Young Athletes
How are young athletes affected when their parents sink large amounts of money into youth sports and pile on expectations? was a sports columnist for The New York Times for 26 years, where he covered ten Olympics and countless NBA finals, World Series, Super Bowls and Final Fours. A sports parent, he's the author of , which was released in December. Araton warns sports parents about the pitfalls of spending too much money on youth sports--which creates pressure for sports kids. He also cautions parents to avoid heaping high expectations on sports kids, and tells stories about how he...
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Sports Kids Should Follow Their Dreams, Says Former Professional Golfer
Building Confidence in Young Athletes
Former professional golfer Jay Delsing, author of "You Wouldn’t Believe Me If I Told You," describes how he pursued his sports dream and says young athletes should also aim high, even if the odds of success are low. Growing up in a large, low-income, sports-oriented family, he was encouraged to believe he could achieve anything with hard work, he said. Although baseball was his first love, golf became his passion. “I wasn't smart enough to really be afraid. I mean, (people) would tell me all these odds,” Delsing said. “'Do you know that less than 1 % of everybody that plays golf...
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Help Sports Kids Overcome Performance Blocks
Building Confidence in Young Athletes
Young athletes who forget skills, freeze up or make avoidable mistakes and who can’t meet their practice performance during competitions are struggling with performance blocks. These blocks can be caused by excessive pressure, anxiety, worry, perfectionism or identity issues and self-judgement, said Albert Bramante, a psychology professor and author of “Rise Above the Script." To help kids overcome these performance blocks, parents can remind them that blocks do not reflect ability. “It's not their fault that this has happened. It's not an indication that you're a subpar athlete or...
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How Sports Kids Can Build Confidence Under Pressure
Building Confidence in Young Athletes
Andy Whittier knows how to cope with pressure. He transitioned from playing college football to representing the U.S. in the skeleton sport, a solo, head-first sled race down an icy track at speeds of up to 89 mph. At first, it was terrifying, he said. But with constant practice, he started making some “good, fast clean runs” and building confidence. Athletes can build confidence gradually through experience, discipline and stacking small wins over time. Repetition and practice are key, he said. Send episode ideas to Subscribe to this podcast on Learn more about host and writer...
info_outlineFormer professional golfer Jay Delsing, author of "You Wouldn’t Believe Me If I Told You," describes how he pursued his sports dream and says young athletes should also aim high, even if the odds of success are low.
Growing up in a large, low-income, sports-oriented family, he was encouraged to believe he could achieve anything with hard work, he said. Although baseball was his first love, golf became his passion.
“I wasn't smart enough to really be afraid. I mean, (people) would tell me all these odds,” Delsing said. “'Do you know that less than 1 % of everybody that plays golf can play on the PGA tour?’ people would ask. And I'm like, no, I didn't know that. And I don't really care. Somebody's got to make up that 1%. Why can't it be me?”
Learn more about Delsing at Golf with Jay Delsing.
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