Celebrate the small wins with young athletes

We all know scoring more points is a big part of winning in sports, but is the scoreboard more important than other small victories?

Particularly at younger ages, focusing on skill development, personal improvement, achievements, overcoming challenges surrounding the game and having fun are more important.

In a column posted by isport360, Amy Masters wrote why celebrating achievements play a role in the development of young athletes.

— Boosts confidence. Each small achievement reinforces the belief that hard work and dedication lead to success. This can help athletes tackle more challenges with a positive mindset.

— Maintains motivation. Recognizing and celebrating small wins helps maintain motivation by breaking down long-term goals into manageable milestones. It helps athletes to keep working toward their objectives. It helps prevent kids from growing bored and dissatisfied with the sport, developing a love for the sport.

— Teaches perseverance. Kids learn that it’s possible to overcome challenges with determination, hard work and the right mindset.

— Reduces anxiety. Celebrating small wins shifts the focus away from the scoreboard and onto the process, helping to reduce the fear of failure and the anxiety that goes along with that.

So how do you celebrate small wins?

— Praise and recognize. Simple words from coaches and parents can help with that acknowledgment. Highlight effort, determination and progress made.

— Acknowledge the team. Celebrate small wins of the entire team, fostering a sense of unity and camaraderie, where kids encourage and cheer for each other.

— Set achievable goals and help athletes track their progress.

— Self-reflect. Encourage kids to reflect on their own performances and identify areas of improvement.

— Provide positive reinforcement. Offer small rewards, such as stickers or certificates. This can boost motivation and serve as keepsakes.

— Include fun celebratory rituals into practices and games, including a victory dance, a group cheer, or a high-five circle. Cheer in front of fans sitting in the stands following a victory, sing the school’s fight song.

Small wins might include mastering a new skill, scoring a goal, showing exceptional sportsmanship, improving a personal best, conquering fears and showing resilience after a loss.

What else can you do to encourage kids to “stay with the program?”

Create varied practices. Training can be monotonous. Changing drills and incorporating games or scrimmages helps.

As a former competitive swimmer, I looked forward to Thursdays because we played water polo instead of the repetitive swimming lap after lap after lap. As we got older, we changed it up to boys against girls to make it even more competitive. We weren’t losing training. Playing water polo in some ways was more difficult than the normal practice.

Making sports fun and celebrating the small victories will help your young athlete stick with the process.

Nancy Justis is a former competitive swimmer and college sports information director. She is a partner with Outlier Creative Communications. Let her know what you think at njustis@cfu.net