Developing Young Leaders: Performances Anxiety
September 23, 2024
Developing Young Leaders: Performances Anxiety
How to identify when you are preparing for practice vs the game
This week, we talked with the kids about performance anxiety—a normal and even helpful response when the stakes are high, like in a big game or competition. Anxiety helps us focus and prepare, but the problem arises when we feel it in everyday situations, like practice or small tasks. This creates unnecessary stress and stops us from taking risks, limiting growth.
Giving ourselves space for growth
One of the kids shared how they felt anxious every time they had to write, no matter how small the task. Another talked about how practice felt as stressful as a real game because they didn’t want to make mistakes. We discussed how this mindset affects their ability to improve. When we treat practice or small activities like the high-pressure moments, we don’t give ourselves space to learn and grow.
Practice in the parking lot before hitting the highway
Our analogy for this week was learning how to drive. When you first start driving, you learn in a parking lot, not on the highway. The parking lot is a place to make mistakes, take risks, and build confidence through little wins. As we continue to gather those wins, we eventually feel ready for the highway—the big moments that require all we’ve learned. It’s okay to take risks in the parking lot because that’s where you grow the most, you are driving slower and there really isn't anything to hit.
Below are pictures of the Westborough 7th and 8th grade girls' soccer team, with whom we focused on strength, stabilization, agility mobility, along with a lesson on performance anxiety in our Young Leader Development series. Caroline Queenan helped lead the session and shared her own experiences, which provided valuable insights and made the lessons even more relatable and beneficial for the players.
Don’t forget, we’re hosting a Youth Resiliency Workshop this Friday from 1-2:30pm. We have less than 10 spots left, and it’s free to all members. We’ll dive deeper into managing anxiety, stress, and building mental strength. This workshop will help kids learn how to approach challenges both in practice and in life with confidence. Sign-up here.
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Ella has shown incredible progress during her time at PTS and we are so lucky to have her as part of our community! Here, she shares her journey with Prototype. Thank you for being you — you truly deserve to be our September POM! 1.) Share your experience at Prototype I first found out about Prototype through my high school soccer team and was super interested in it. I subsequently joined with a few of my teammates and have continued to train with them. 2.) What is your favorite part about being at Prototype? I love having a community that is always there to help me out, answer any questions I have, and offer support. 3.) What are your hobbies and activities? I play soccer for Westborough High School and Bayside FC, I also train Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and am a black belt in Krav Maga. 4.) How has Prototype helped you or solved a problem for you? Through Prototype I have learned so much about the relationship between training and recovery, which has helped me to perform my best consistently! 5.) What are you continuing fitness goals to this point? Through Prototype I am pairing soccer with conditioning training and recovery to try and improve physical fitness and performance in the game. 6.) Favorite Quote “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take” Wayne Gretzky - Michael Scott (the Office)
Climb to New Heights
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