Boosting Mental Toughness in Young Athletes & 20 Strategies

Mental toughness is not about being the loudest and brashest athlete on the sports field, pitch, track, or in the pool.
Instead, mental toughness is what gets the athlete out training at 5 am, enables them to play at their limits when their team is behind, and ramps up their focus when facing up to a more experienced and highly successful athlete (Clough, Strycharczyk & Perry, 2021).
For our young athletes, boosting this aspect of their psychological makeup can protect them from stress, support their decision-making, and offer them more consistent performances—where they feel at their best mentally and physically more of the time.
Let’s explore what mental toughness for young athletes entails and why it matters so much for those in early-career sports.
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