There\u2019s a moment a lot of sports parents recognize.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Your swimmer steps onto the blocks and suddenly looks different. Their shoulders tighten. They glance down the pool one more time. You can almost see them thinking about the start instead of simply getting ready to race.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The same thing happens in a baseball batter\u2019s box, at the free-throw line, over a four-foot putt or before the gun goes off in a track final. An athlete who has performed the skill hundreds of times suddenly has to perform it while nervous, distracted, frustrated or very aware that the result matters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That\u2019s where mental performance coaching<\/a> can come in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It isn’t tied to one sport because the skills involved (focus, confidence, responding to mistakes, handling pressure and preparing mentally for competition) show up everywhere. Performing better in practice than competition, difficulty concentrating, trouble recovering from setbacks and lack of confidence after injury are among common reasons an athlete might work with one of our mental performance coaches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For parents, though, it can be hard to know what actually falls into that category. These are five patterns worth paying attention to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This may be the easiest pattern to recognize.<\/p>\n\n\n\n An athlete looks loose and confident during practice, but then competition starts and everything seems a little slower and tighter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Pressure can affect athletes in different ways. Attention can shift toward the outcome, mistakes become harder to ignore and movements that normally feel automatic can suddenly become something the athlete is consciously trying to control.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The solution isn’t necessarily to tell them to relax.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A mental performance coach may work with the athlete on a repeatable pre-performance routine, breathing, attention cues, self-talk or ways to practice performing when a little more pressure is attached to the rep. The idea is to give the athlete something specific to return to when competition feels different from practice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There is research behind that approach. A 2026 study looking specifically at sports performance under pressure<\/a> found benefits from interventions including pre-performance routines, self-talk, mindfulness and quiet-eye training, although the effectiveness varied depending on the type of sport and task.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The goal isn’t to make an athlete feel nothing before a big moment, it’s to help them perform even when they do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Some athletes are incredibly hard on themselves. The mistake itself may last two seconds, but the reaction to it lasts much longer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Perfectionism can play a role here, although it’s worth being careful with the label. Wanting to perform well isn’t a problem by itself. Research in athletes distinguishes between striving for high standards and the more troublesome side of perfectionism involving excessive concern over mistakes and perceived expectations from others. Those perfectionistic concerns have been associated with burnout and other negative outcomes in sport.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mental performance work often focuses less on vague positive thinking and more on what happens in the 10 or 20 seconds after the mistake.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n A short cue such as \u201cnext ball,\u201d a breath, adjusting a piece of equipment or another consistent action can become the signal that the previous play is over. The Association for Applied Sport Psychology specifically recommends performance routines and productive self-talk as tools young athletes can practice rather than trying to improvise their way out of frustration during competition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The objective isn’t to teach athletes not to care about mistakes, it’s to keep one mistake from taking the next opportunity with it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This one can be confusing for parents because everything appears to be fine medically, but when it’s time to cut hard on that leg, dive for the ball or make the same movement that caused the injury, there is visible hesitation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fear or concern about reinjury is well documented in sports medicine and can persist even when physical measures suggest an athlete is ready to return. Research has linked greater fear of reinjury with difficulty returning to sport and lower confidence during the return-to-play process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Returning confidently can require rebuilding trust in the movement as well as rebuilding physical capacity. That process may include gradually progressing toward more realistic sport situations, along with mental strategies that help the athlete manage uncertainty and rebuild confidence. Research on athletes returning from ACL injuries<\/a>, for example, has identified graded sport exposure and psychological preparation as useful parts of that process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is also an area where the mental performance coach should not be operating alone. Physical progression after an injury belongs with the athlete’s physician, physical therapist, athletic trainer and other qualified medical professionals. Mental performance support can complement that work by addressing confidence and psychological readiness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A young athlete who used to love practice suddenly doesn’t want to go.<\/p>\n\n\n\n They’re dragging through workouts, getting irritated more easily or talking about quitting a sport that used to matter enormously to them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It’s tempting to call that an attitude problem, but sometimes it is simply a temporary dip in motivation. But burnout is real, and it is more complicated than a child suddenly deciding not to work hard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The American Academy of Pediatrics describes athlete burnout<\/a> as physical or mental exhaustion combined with a reduced sense of accomplishment that can eventually lead an athlete to devalue the sport. High training loads without adequate recovery, pressure to succeed, reduced enjoyment and an increasingly professionalized youth-sports environment can all contribute.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Perfectionism, relationships with coaches and parents, an athlete’s sense of control and the overall sport environment may also matter. There usually isn’t one simple cause.<\/p>\n\n\n\n San Diego’s weather makes it possible to train and compete in many sports for much of the year, which can be wonderful for active kids, but it can also make it easier for an offseason to disappear if families aren’t intentional about recovery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A mental performance coach isn’t there simply to convince a burned-out athlete to try harder. Sometimes the more useful conversation is about what the athlete actually wants, how much pressure they’re feeling, whether the current schedule is sustainable and what would make the sport feel rewarding again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This athlete isn’t necessarily nervous and isn’t dwelling on mistakes. They just seem to disappear for stretches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A defender misses an assignment. A tennis player suddenly loses track of the score. A baseball player isn’t ready when the next pitch comes. A swimmer loses focus on the technical cue they had planned to use in the middle of a race.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Parents and coaches may interpret that as carelessness, but sometimes it is simply that nobody has taught the athlete how to direct and reset their attention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Focus isn’t the ability to concentrate perfectly for an entire two-hour competition. Athletes move their attention constantly. They gather information, execute a skill, recover and prepare for the next moment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mental performance training can help an athlete create a reliable way to return their attention to what matters now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That might involve one breath between points, a cue word before a pitch, a short routine at the free-throw line or focusing on an external target rather than thinking about every part of the movement. Research on attentional focus in sport suggests that where an athlete directs attention can affect performance and learning, although the best approach varies with the task and athlete.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The important part is that \u201cfocus harder\u201d isn’t much of an instruction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A routine gives an athlete something to actually do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mental performance coaching deals with the mental skills connected to performing: confidence, concentration, routines, handling pressure, responding to mistakes, motivation and similar challenges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mental health treatment is different.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If your child’s anxiety, low mood, sleep problems or other concerns are showing up well beyond sports or significantly affecting everyday life, start with a pediatrician or licensed mental-health provider.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A good mental performance professional should recognize when something falls outside their scope and refer accordingly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mental performance training looks a little different from sport-specific private coaching because much of the work can happen without a field, pool or batting cage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Some athletes work with coaches in person. Others meet virtually, which can make it easier to continue during a busy club, high school or travel season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n San Diego also has a strong high-performance sports presence. The Chula Vista Elite Athlete Training Center is currently recognized by the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee as an official Training Site, one of several facilities around the country used to support elite athlete preparation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But a young athlete doesn’t need to be training at an Olympic level to benefit from learning some of the same basic mental skills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you’re looking locally, browse private mental performance coaches in San Diego<\/a> and compare their backgrounds and areas of focus. One athlete may be struggling primarily with competition nerves, while another needs help resetting after mistakes or rebuilding confidence after an injury. Those aren’t necessarily the same coaching problem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If your athlete also needs sport-specific instruction, Athletes Untapped has private coaching options for track and field<\/a>, baseball<\/a>, basketball<\/a>, football<\/a>, golf<\/a> and lacrosse<\/a> in San Diego.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Families elsewhere in Southern California can also browse mental performance coaches near Los Angeles<\/a> and Orange County<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That moment on the blocks (or at the plate, free-throw line or starting line) doesn’t necessarily mean anything is wrong with an athlete. Sometimes it simply means they’ve reached the point where physical preparation isn’t the only skill worth practicing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" There\u2019s a moment a lot of sports parents recognize. Your swimmer steps onto the blocks and suddenly looks different. Their shoulders tighten. They glance down the pool one more time. You can almost see them thinking about the start instead of simply getting ready to race. The same thing happens in a baseball batter\u2019s box, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5930,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15,30,28,18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5927","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","category-for-parents","category-mental-performance","category-sports"],"yoast_head":"\nPattern One: Great in Practice, Different Athlete in Competition<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Pattern Two: One Mistake Ruins the Next Five Minutes<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Pattern Three: Physically Cleared After an Injury, but Still Hesitant<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Pattern Four: Burnout That Gets Mistaken for Laziness<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Pattern Five: Focus Disappears in the Middle of Competition<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
What Mental Performance Coaching Is… and What It Isn’t<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Finding Mental Performance Coaching in San Diego<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n