The Basics of Goal Perspective Theory

Some very smart psychologist in the 1980s (Ames-1984, Dweck-1986, and Nicholls-1989) established the basis of what is now commonly called goal perspective theory. Goal perspective theory is a fundamental concept for sports. It’s a concept that both sport parents and coaches must understand for the purpose of knowing what makes their athletes tick. The core […]

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Where to Start When Young Athlete Has Obvious Mental Toughness Issue

A few days ago I shared my perspective on how to develop mental toughness. My perspective comes from the concepts of a mental toughness framework experts call the 4Cs model. Challenge: You must proactively seek out challenges and look for opportunities that will require you to overcome adversity. Commitment: You must proactively put yourself is situations were […]

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The Critical Difference Between Encouraging and Pushing in Youth Sports

Popular opinion is that encouraging kids is good, pushing them is bad. I tend to agree that this is a good rule of thumb. However, how can a parent know when they have crossed the line from encouraging to pushing? Looking at the basic dictionary definition of the two words gives us a fairly good […]

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