About Jeremy Boone Expertise I can provide advice on developing the young athlete from ages 8-18 years of age. Whether you are looking to get faster, improve your strength, or even increase your flexibility, I will be able to help you.
Experience I have helped to develop athletes from the recreational to the olympic and professional level in a multitude of sports over the past 10 years. I am a speaker and clinician throughout the United States and Canada. My primary emphasis is on developing the young athlete.
Organizations National Strength & Conditioning Association
American Massage Therapy Assocation
various national sports associations
Expert: Jeremy Boone Date: 2/7/2003 Subject: Building confidence/assertion
Question Hello! I hope you can answer my question although my son is only 4. He is very talented in all things physical- he excels in all the drills and skills in his sports classes. He is currently in a class where each week they play a different sport. He has also taken some soccer classes. He enjoys them very much and participates with enthusiasm while they are doing the warm-ups and drills, whether they be shooting baskets, throwing footballs, kicking soccer balls into the net, etc. He always does very well in all of the skills. However, once they actually start playing a "real" game (as real as you can get with pre-schoolers!) he becomes very slow and reluctant to get in on the action. He is just not aggressive when it comes to getting to the ball. He lags behind the rest of the boys and looks very unsure of himself. When his father or I play any sport with him at home, however, he is very assertive with the ball. Do you have any suggestions on how to improve his confidence/level of assertion? He loves playing sports so much, and I'm scared his lack of assertion will really hurt him when he is old enough to play on a league. This spring he is looking forward to playing T-ball and tennis, so maybe those non-contact type of sports will be better suited to him. He really loves playing soccer, basketball, and floor hockey, though, except for the actual games. Any advice? Thank you for taking the time to answer my question.
Answer Hi Kara,
It sounds like 'confidence' is playing a role. Issues such as how does he act in social situations with his peers, with his teammates, etc. Take a look at www.competitivedge.com. Dr. Goldberg has some excellent material on the psychology aspects of soccer. His material is called "Playing Out Of Your Mind".
