Dr. Rick Neff, a licensed clinical and sports psychologist in King of Prussia, says that when young athletes dream of turning pro, parents should support them as much as possible.

While not all young athletes will have that level of success, it is important to help them strive for it, he told Sean Streicher at Fox43.

“We want to stress and support the process and take the emphasis off the outcome,” explained Dr. Neff, who is the founder of Inner-Edge Sports Psychology.

“I like to say stress the process of development, stress the process of getting better, and allow your son or daughter to fail.”

Letting your child experience failure is one of the hardest things for a parent to do, but it is an important learning experience, he said.

“Experiencing failure, learning through failure, growing from failure, allows for both, I would consider more success on an athletic field, and also in the classroom, and in society.”

Read more tips on how to support your young athlete from Dr. Neff at Fox43.

________________

More on sports psychology.