⚠️Draw Attention to Feel
A lot of young athletes are trying so hard to do it right that they never actually learn what right feels like.
They hear the cue.
Keep your elbow up.
Stay through it.
Snap it.
Drive through the ball.
Finish high.
None of those are bad coaching points. But there is a problem that shows up fast in youth sports.
When an athlete gets overloaded with mechanical thoughts, they start performing the rep from the neck up.
They are not moving freely anymore. They are managing themselves. Controlling themselves. Judging themselves in real time.
And once that happens, learning slows down.
That is one of the most useful ideas in The Inner Game of Tennis. Gallwey argues that performance gets disrupted when the athlete’s thinking mind keeps interrupting the body instead of letting it learn through attention, awareness, and repetition. He describes the real battle as the one between the voice that over-instructs and the part of the athlete that actually knows how to learn.
That matters way beyond tennis.
It matters in the batter’s box.
It matters at the free throw line.
It matters in the weight room.
It matters in the throwing lane, on the mound, in the block, on the beam, and in every rep where a kid is trying to improve.
The Problem
A lot of athletes think improvement comes from thinking harder.
It usually does not.
Improvement often comes from paying better attention.
There is a difference.
Thinking harder sounds like this:
“Don’t drop your shoulder.”
“Last rep was bad.”
“Coach said keep my hands inside.”
“I always mess this up.”
“Try harder this time.”
Paying better attention sounds more like this:
“That rep felt quick.”
“That one felt balanced.”
“I stayed smooth there.”
“That contact felt clean.”
“I was under control on that one.”
That shift matters because the body learns from reps, but it also learns from awareness.
Gallwey makes the case that athletes improve faster when they observe what is happening without constant judgment, and when they learn to notice the feel of good movement instead of only obsessing over verbal correction. He repeatedly points athletes back toward awareness, trust, and what he calls relaxed concentration.
In plain language, this means that if your athlete has one really good swing, throw, lift, or stride, don’t just say, “Good job.”
Ask them what it felt like.
Because that is the rep they need to remember.
🧬 The Insight
Feel is one of the fastest teachers in sports.
When an athlete connects a good rep to a clear internal sensation, learning speeds up.
Not because technique stops mattering. Technique absolutely matters.
But cues alone are not enough.
An athlete can repeat instructions all day and still not own the movement. What changes things is when the athlete starts to notice:
How their feet felt on balance.
How their hands felt at contact.
How the rhythm of the rep felt when it was clean.
How their breathing felt when they stayed loose.
How the motion felt when they stopped forcing it.
That is when the movement starts becoming theirs.
Gallwey points out that players often learn more by noticing what is happening than by drowning in correction. He emphasizes observing without over-judging and letting the body learn from clear attention to the rep itself.
That idea is gold for parents and coaches.
Because sometimes we are so eager to help that we interrupt the very process that would help the athlete learn faster.
What This Looks Like in Real Life
Let’s say your daughter hits one line drive in batting practice after six weak fly balls.
The instinct is to say, “Yes, that’s it. Do that again.”
That is fine as far as it goes.
But better might be:
“What felt different on that one?”
Maybe she says:
“I stayed through it.”
“I wasn’t rushing.”
“It felt easier.”
“I saw it longer.”
“My hands were quicker.”
Now she is learning.
Now she is not just receiving praise. She is building awareness.
Or maybe your son comes off the court after a great defensive rep in basketball.
Instead of immediately giving him three coaching corrections, ask:
“Did that rep feel different?”
He might say:
“I got lower earlier.”
“I wasn’t reaching.”
“My feet felt under me.”
That is useful. That is sticky. That is something the athlete can carry into the next rep.
The goal is not to make kids overthink their body language either. The goal is to help them connect good performance with internal awareness.
That is very different from making them robotic.
🔁 The Shift
Do not just coach what it looked like.
Coach what it felt like.
That one change can clean up a lot.
Instead of only saying:
“Get lower.”
Also ask:
“Did you feel how balanced you were on that rep?”
Instead of only saying:
“Stay through the ball.”
Also ask:
“Did that contact feel more solid?”
Instead of only saying:
“That was your best throw.”
Also ask:
“What felt smoother there?”
Those questions train ownership.
They help athletes become active participants in their own improvement instead of just receivers of outside feedback.
And over time, that matters more than we realize.
Because the athlete who can recognize a good rep can repeat a good rep.
🧭 The Takeaway
Young athletes learn quicker when they can identify the feel of a good rep.
Not just the result.
Not just the coach’s approval.
Not just the mechanics in words.
The feel.
That does not mean we stop coaching technique. It means we connect technique to awareness.
That is how learning sticks.
That is how confidence becomes more real.
That is how athletes stop living in their head and start growing in their body.
👊 Put It Into Practice This Week
After one good rep in practice or a game, ask your athlete one question:
“What did that one feel like?”
Then leave room.
Do not answer it for them.
Do not rush to add three more corrections.
Do not turn it into a lecture.
Just let them notice.
That question might do more for development than another five reminders shouted from the sideline.
🏅 The Locker Room
Mindset Move: Remember the Feel
When you get a rep that feels clean, balanced, quick, smooth, or strong, pay attention.
Do not just move on.
Do not just hope it happens again.
Notice it.
The body learns from repetition.
But it also learns from awareness.
❤️ The Parents’ Bleachers
Parents, one of the best ways to help your athlete improve is to become less mechanical in the moment.
Not silent.
Not passive.
Just more thoughtful.
Sometimes the best thing you can say after a good rep is not instruction.
It is:
“What felt right there?”
That question teaches reflection.
It teaches ownership.
And it helps your athlete trust their own learning process.
That is a big deal.
⚡ BE THE CATALYST
This week, ask your athlete to name the feel of one good rep after practice.
Reply and tell me what they said.