Train young athletes to be resilient |09 November 2019

Train our young athletes to be resilient in sports and in life.

Who is a resilient athlete?

A resilient person bounces back from defeat and disappointments. The skill is acquired through experience. For example baby sees something that he wants to grab and works until he succeeds,

Just like as a child cannot learn how to walk without occasional fall. The young athlete cannot learn how to succeed in life without experiencing occasional setbacks.

Why resilience is important for young athlete?

Some young athletes get discouraged when they meet with failure, adversity, or criticism. Others            give up entirely. However, they need to understand the following:

• Failure is inevitable in sports;
• Adversity affects everyone at some point; and
• Correction is vital for learning.

Resilience will help your athlete face life’s challenges with confidence.

Famous basketball player Micheal Jourdan failed several times and he got up again.

Young athletes should be helped to see thing in perspective. For example, losing a match is not the end of the world. An athlete might give up, saying, I can’t do anything right.

To teach resilience, help your athlete work out a strategy that will help him improve the necessary skills needed. In this way, he will take charge of the challenges rather than quit the sport.

An athlete who is able to bounce back from disappointment and mistakes is more likely to persevere when learning new skills in sports and become proficient at them.

How can you help your athlete benefit from constructive criticism and correction?

When your athlete receives it – whether in sport from officials or school, resist the urge to say that the correction is unfair. Instead, you could ask:

• Why do you think the correction was given?
• How you can improve?
• What will you do the next time you are in this situation?

Remember, constructive criticism will serve your athlete well. Not only now but also in adulthood.

Young athlete who faces challenges and don’t move forward will always believe they cannot accomplish that task, but if we help to foster resilience and move forward we can overcome that obstacle. This process fosters a belief that it might be hard, but we can accomplish that! When this happens, that thought process and perspective moves with your athlete to the next challenge. Getting up and trying again is how we learn.”

Characters to be formed in your athletes to develop resilient.

1. Qualities of character which express good relationship to training and competition (Hard working, determination, readiness to perform, will power)

2. Qualities of character which express the relationship to the collective, to other and oneself (fair sporting behaviour, modesty, optimism, honesty, politeness, readiness to help)

3. Qualities of character which reflect the athlete’s relationship to his own country and to other countries and people (pride in sporting success and in representing one’s country, recognition of athletes from other countries)

What can we do as coaches to develop resilient in our athletes?

Instill valuable life skills that can build resilience in the lives of our young athletes. Unfortunately, those valuable life skills can become secondary to winning. Not only do coaches help kids have fun and experience winning and losing, they also play an important role in positive youth development

Avoid fixing the challenges of your athletes in sport and life. Instead help them create their own plans.

My fellow coaches, preparing for high sporting performance places great demand on positive character. Only with the physical skills we will be going nowhere. Mental preparation should walk side by side with other skills.

Maurice Denys (Mr)                                                                                                              

Certified Mental Coach (CMC)

S.N.H.S.Dip (Sports Psychology)                                                  

S.N.H.S.Dip (Life coaching)