Building Confidence in Young Athletes

Negative thinking hurts sports kids' confidence and performance. But juggling, hypnosis and posting notes all over a sports kids' house can combat this way of thinking, said Ignacio Segovia, a hypnotherapist, psychologist and mental performance coach.

Juggling--or even tossing a ball from one hand to the other before a game--can interrupt negative thoughts by occupying the athlete's mind and senses, he said. With hypnosis, sports kids can substitute negative thoughts such as "I'm no good at sports" with positive thoughts. And when kids post notes all over their house with positive statements, kids' subconscious holds onto the positive thoughts. It's as if the house is talking to them, said Segovia.

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