The 8 psychological problems of children when facing sports practice

Although in the past it could be considered a minor issue, mental health linked to sport is an aspect capable of significantly affect both the quality of life of millions of people around the world, as well as their performance sports.

When we are also talking about children and adolescents who play sports, it is even more important to pay attention to signs that there are psychological and psychosocial phenomena that interfere between young people and normal sports practice.

• Related article: "What is Sports Psychology?"

What are the most common psychological problems in child athletes?

These are the main psychological and psychosocial alterations that children who practice a sport, both individually and as a team, may present.

1. Extreme fear and shyness

The fear of being in front of a large audience or public is generally one of the main reasons why a boy or girl does not want to be exposed to practicing a certain sport.

This feeling of anguish and restlessness when being observed or judged by a large number of people can generate real mental health problems in our children and is usually reason enough for them to give up.

This generally affects boys and girls with self-esteem problems or those who may have a more serious latent psychological disorder.

• You may be interested in: "The 10 keys to overcome shyness"

2. Frustration at mistakes

The inability to manage the frustration that our child may feel when participating in a specific sport also constitutes a psychological problem depending on how she experiences it at all times her mistakes in the field of game. In addition, all this at ages in which making mistakes is common, due to lack of experience. This frustration is often generated by the results obtained or by the failure to compete with other teams. or in individual sports.

In addition to that, the inability to learn from one's own mistakes also generates great frustration, as well as the fact that Focusing too much on mistakes and not valuing the positive aspects of the sporting activity that is being carried out.

• Related article: "How to learn from mistakes"

3. Low self-esteem

As indicated, low self-esteem is one of the main psychological problems that can have boys and girls, as well as adolescents of school age who participate in some sport.

At these ages is when the personality of each individual is formed and many of these children and young people can build an insecure, depressed or anxious personality if they do not have a good level of self-esteem.

There are many factors that contribute to a person having low self-esteem, among the main ones we can highlight the fact that comparing yourself at all times with your teammates and believing that you are not as good as them or as the team members contrary.

• You may be interested in: "What is self-esteem?"

4. Lack of motivation

The lack of motivation when it comes to continuing to practice a sport is also a psychological disorder that many boys and girls can encounter throughout their childhood sports career.

This lack of motivation can also come from not having clear objectives for improvement or not having a future horizon of hope or illusion, both on a personal, professional or sporting level.

5. Perception of great pressure from parents

Parents play a fundamental role in the lives of sporting children. and their actions can greatly affect the mental health of their children.

Some parents exert unreasonable and disproportionate pressure on their children to be better every day, generally as a way of compensating for failures or complexes from their past such as athletes.

This pressure can manifest itself directly and obviously or in more subtle ways, but it ends up being a very difficult burden to bear. bear for the children, who end up developing more serious mental health problems such as anxiety, stress or depression. depression.

6. Poor communication skills

Poor or poor communication skills is also a classic obstacle they encounter. boys and girls who compete in a sport in which the coordination of team members is key.

Often these infants may have difficulty communicating or few practical coping strategies. do it successfully with your teammates or coaches and this makes it very difficult for you to be able to work on equipment.

If the child is not able to communicate correctly with his teammates, it will be difficult for her to succeed. sports and this will significantly affect self-esteem, ability to manage anxiety, and their mental health in general. general.

7. social conflict

Due to the competitive nature of many sports, young people with more trouble managing impulsiveness may have trouble managing their frustration and they are involved in conflicts frequently with other classmates and also with adults (either with coaches, referees or with their parents).

This type of social conflict affects both the quality of sporting life of the boy or girl and their performance sports, and it is also due to a lack of basic social skills, such as assertiveness, which have not yet been worked on properly.

8. excessive competition

Excessive competitiveness is a problem that some child athletes have and may also be related to a very harsh parenting style on the part of their parents.

Having a great feeling of competitiveness, defeats are usually more painful when they occur and that is something that profoundly affects a person's mental health.

Are you looking for professional psychological assistance?

If you want to have the psychological assistance of a team with a lot of experience both in the field of psychotherapy and in that of sports psychology, get in touch with us.

In UPAD Psychology and Coaching We work serving adults, children, adolescents and families.