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Home / Blog / Mental Development for Young Athletes

Mental Development for Young Athletes 09.24.2026

Psychological support to help young athletes manage pressure, emotions, motivation and challenging situations in sport

They perform well in training, but nerves overwhelm them in competition. After making a mistake, they cannot get back into the game. They struggle with failure, lose motivation or feel apprehensive about returning to sport after an injury.

A young person’s sporting performance is influenced by more than physical preparation. Mental resilience, self-confidence, the ability to work with emotions, and the environment in which a child trains and grows up all play an important role.

MY CLINIC now offers the Mental Development for Young Athletes programme. It is designed for children and adolescents involved in competitive sport who want to make better use of their mental potential—not only in sport, but in other areas of life as well.

Book an initial consultation. Together, we will assess the young athlete’s current situation and recommend a suitable form of support.

Book an initial consultation
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How can the programme help?

The programme responds to specific situations that young athletes and their parents often face. It may be suitable when a young athlete:

  • Struggles to manage pressure before a race, match or competition
  • Performs very differently in competition than in training
  • Finds it difficult to cope with mistakes, failure or criticism
  • Is going through a period of stagnation or fluctuating performance
  • Is losing motivation or enjoyment of sport
  • Is returning to sport after an injury or illness
  • Needs to improve concentration, reaction speed or decision-making under pressure
  • Wants to develop self-confidence, self-reflection and mental resilience

The aim is not to place additional pressure on performance. The programme helps young athletes understand their own responses, work with emotions and build skills they can use in training, competition and everyday life.

More than conventional mental training

The MY CLINIC programme is based on a personalised, comprehensive psychological approach. It is not limited to practising motivational or relaxation techniques.

Depending on the individual athlete’s needs, it may combine:

  • A psychological assessment of the current situation
  • Work with stress and emotions
  • Analysis of performance motivation and support for self-confidence
  • Standardised psychodiagnostic methods
  • Assessment of selected cognitive functions
  • A personalised mental training plan
  • Support for personal development
  • Advice and consultations for parents

The choice of methods is always tailored to the young person’s age, needs, current situation and sporting goals.

Working with emotions before, during and after performance

Pre-competition nerves are not necessarily a problem in themselves. What matters is whether an athlete can regulate them and use them to their advantage.

The programme teaches young athletes to manage pre-competition and starting-line states, frustration during performance, and emotions after a competition. It may include imagery, autosuggestion and other psychological methods that can be incorporated into sports training.

Attention is also given to coping with mistakes, restoring concentration and continuing to perform without an unnecessarily prolonged dip.

Assessment of cognitive functions and personalised mental training

Depending on individual needs, the programme may include an assessment of cognitive functions important for a particular sporting discipline, such as:

  • Working memory
  • Selective attention and concentration
  • Perceptual speed
  • Reaction speed
  • Anticipation
  • Decision-making under pressure

The results may be followed by a personalised mental training plan focused on developing selected abilities.

Healthy athletic and personal development

Sport can provide a valuable environment for developing discipline, perseverance, teamwork and mental resilience. At the same time, it can bring high expectations, fear of failure or an excessive tendency to link self-worth with sporting results.

The programme therefore also supports:

  • Self-reflection
  • A healthy self-concept and identity development
  • Understanding one’s own performance motivation
  • Emotional intelligence and communication skills
  • Healthy social relationships within and beyond the sporting environment
  • Mental health and overall wellbeing
  • A healthy balance between performance, recovery and rest

The aim is for a sporting career to be not only a pursuit of results, but also an opportunity for healthy mental and personal development.

Working with parents is an important part of the programme

Parents have a major influence on a child’s experience of sport. However, it is not always easy to know when to encourage a child, when to give them space, and how to respond after a disappointing performance.

Parents can therefore receive practical guidance on:

  • Supporting a child’s healthy motivation
  • Communicating after both success and failure
  • Managing expectations and performance pressure
  • Recognising possible signs of overload or overtraining
  • Creating an environment that supports both performance and healthy development

The aim is not to judge parenting, but to find a form of support that matches the needs of the individual child.

How does the programme work?

The process begins with a 60-minute initial consultation. Its purpose is to assess the current situation, needs and expectations of the young athlete and their family.

The initial consultation is followed by a core programme of at least six individual sessions. Each session lasts 60 minutes. Further sessions can be arranged according to the athlete’s needs and agreed goals.

Clinical lead

The programme’s clinical lead is doc. PhDr. Daniela Stackeová, Ph.D.

The comprehensive psychological approach makes it possible to address not only the immediate sporting issue, but also the broader factors that are important for a young person’s healthy development.

Programme price

Help a young athlete develop not only performance, but also resilience and healthy self-confidence
The initial consultation will help determine what the young athlete currently needs and which form of support best matches their situation and goals.

Initial consultation: CZK 4,000 / 60 minutes
Follow-up programme: CZK 18,900 / 6 sessions of 60 minutes each

Book an initial consultation
Client line img +420 222 900 900

Mon - Thu 7.30-18.00, Fri 7.30-16.00