Sports psychologist Greg Dale keeps it simple

The world of youth sports grows more complex with each passing season. Duke University sports psychologist Greg Dale offers a simple way to alleviate the considerable pressures on young athletes: Let them play.

Sharon resident Jeff Maidment, Director of Athletics at Providence’s Moses Brown School, was so impressed with Dale’s message at a National Athletic Administrators conference that he invited him to share it with Moses Brown students, coaches and parents on September 17.

Dale began with student-athletes. “Pressure often comes from within,” he told them, “and so can the release of that pressure.” To help student-athletes avoid dwelling on mistakes, he introduced a visualization technique to “flush” mistakes away and get on with the game. “Many of our teams have already reported that they’re using this method, with success,” Jeff Maidment said.

Next, it was the coaches’ turn to talk with Dale. He urged them to be open-minded and to keep lines of communication open. “He pushed us to think about the culture that we create for our student-athletes,” said Maidment. Many initially agreed with the statement “openly gay students are fully accepted by their team,” yet one coach suggested that “fully” is certainly not the norm. “We had a healthy dialogue,” Maidment recalled. “Perhaps we need to think more carefully about this particular situation.”

In an evening session, Dale welcomed a group of more than 70 parents. His message to them was the simplest of all: Get a life. Dale asked the group: “Do any of you go to practices? Why?” Raising his hand, one parent answered: “Because it’s fun.” Dale responded: “For you, or for your son? When you get home, ask your son if having you at practice is fun for him.” Another parent offered that she attended practices for her daughter’s comfort and to make sure she was safe. Perhaps this mother has “trust issues,” Dale suggested, as the audience laughed. Dale delivered a tough message in a lively presentation, filled with energetic interaction.

“Parents, coaches, student-athletes – our community has taken Greg’s message to heart,” Maidment said. “I’ve received many emails and phone calls praising Greg’s presentations. Several parents attended because their children told them not to miss it! My most veteran coach (with over 300 wins) told me this was the best professional development activity she had ever attended.”

“We all need to keep youth sports in perspective,” Maidment added. “Kids play sports to have fun. If we contribute to their experience in a negative way, then we need to re-think our involvement.”