Parenting Athletes | Elliott Waksman, CMPC

What common obstacles do parents face as they guide a young athlete throughout their career?

How can parents better manage the gut wrenching feeling of watching their children lose and fail?

What are fragile perfects, and how can parents avoid raising someone who’s vulnerable to adversity?

What are the pros and cons to participation trophies in youth sports?

How can a parent stay composed on the sideline and not add to the stress their child is experiencing?

To help me answer these questions today is Elliott Waksman, who is a Certified Consultant through the Association for Applied Sport Psychology (AASP) and has consulted with professional organizations, NCAA teams, and thousands of athletes, including Olympians, professional athletes and student-athletes in youth sports, high school, and college. His time in the trenches with those high performers confirmed his philosophy that developing mental skills, like resiliency, optimism, focus, and confidence helps everyone perform better, regardless of the stage. Elliott, based out of Portland, Oregon, has worked in the field of sport & performance psychology since 2010, helping individuals and groups boost their mental toughness.

Elliott's website: https://portlandsportpsychology.com/

Here's a direct link to Elliott's workbook: https://portlandsportpsychology.com/waksmans-workbook/

Timestamps are below, enjoy!

(00:00) Episode introduction

(01:55) Introduction to Elliott Waksman

(04:24) Common obstacles parents in athletics

(15:48) Fragile perfects

(17:08) Unconditional love facilitating intrinsic motivation

(24:00) Scholarship mythbusting

(29:19) Participation trophy pros and cons

(38:58) Parenting from the sidelines during games

(44:49) Action Items

(45:10) Mantra (self-talk)

(47:04) Fostering motivation, avoiding burnout

(53:51) Controlling the controllables

(57:10) Reinforcing a growth mindset

(01:05:40) Postgame parenting

(01:12:29) Action items recap

(01:15:32) Outro

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Music by Ben Zelico.

Disclaimer: The Sport Psychology Of podcast is for general informational purposes only and does not represent mental health care services, including the giving of mental health care advice. The use of information on this podcast or materials linked from this podcast is at the user’s own risk. The content of this podcast is not intended to be a substitute for professional mental health care advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Users should not disregard or delay in obtaining mental health care for any condition they may have and should seek the assistance of their health care professionals for any such conditions.