Kids love playing sports, and many love playing on their school’s soccer, basketball, or baseball team. I’m sure that yours will be no different! It gives them the chance to make new friends and learn how to be a team player. Not only that, but it also gives them a set of skills to work on outside the classroom. Training with the team will be heaps of fun for them, but things might change suddenly as they are just about to head onto the pitch or court for their very first big game competing. They could potentially get very nervous and start to worry about their ability. Thankfully, there are plenty of ways you can calm them down. Read on to find out all about them.
Start A Lucky Ritual
Lots of professional sports players have lucky rituals that they always do in the changing room before they go out to play a game or match. They might need to do some warm-up stretches in their custom soccer uniforms or listen to a certain song or playlist. Doing this same thing before each game is a way of bringing luck. So, you might want to introduce a kind of lucky ritual for your child. Get them to do something that they think might bring them good fortune when out on the pitch.
Get Them To Do Some Visualization
Another great tip that many professional sports players use is visualization. To do this, you just need to encourage your child to think about playing the sport and a positive outcome. This can help to boost their confidence and banish any pre-game nerves that might be sneaking up. Visualization can also help show them exactly what they need to do to perform well out on the field or court.
Show Them Positive Videos
If you take a look on YouTube, you will see that there are hundreds, if not thousands, of motivational videos that each have their very own positive message. If you show a couple of these to your child, then they will start to feel a lot better about the upcoming game. They might even get them excited about it! A similar idea to this one is to play them some motivational music. Music has been scientifically proven to calm the nerves, and playing something like the theme tune to Rocky is sure to get them in the mood to play!
Don’t Worry Them
Did you know that parents can often stress out their children without meaning to? If you are worried about the game, for instance, then your child could quickly pick up on this and it could cause them to be stressed. So, try and calm your own nerves before trying to tackle your child’s. You could always try some deep breathing or any of the tips already mentioned in this post!
Do you have any other methods that you use to try to calm your child down before a big sports game? If so, I’d love to hear them!
