Young athletes who forget skills, freeze up or make avoidable mistakes and who can't meet their practice performance during competitions are struggling with performance blocks. These blocks can be caused by excessive pressure, anxiety, worry, perfectionism or identity issues and self-judgement, said Albert Bramante, a psychology professor and author of "Rise Above the Script." To help kids overcome these performance blocks, parents can remind them that blocks do not reflect ability. "It's not their fault that this has happened. It's not an indication that you're a subpar athlete or subpar performer; it just means you have a lot of anxiety," he said. Send podcast ideas to [email protected]   with "podcast idea" in the subject line. Subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts Check out our youth sports psychology blog. Visit host Lisa Cohn's writing website.

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