Mental toughness drills for young athletes: 8 games kids like

What mental toughness looks like at 8 to 13

Here’s the honest part first: you can’t make a 9-year-old tough by being tough on them. For kids this age, mental toughness is small and specific. It’s getting back in ready position after a strikeout. It’s trying the new move in a game even though it might not work. It’s hearing a loud gym and still watching the ball.

Fun is the delivery system. In an Association for Applied Sport Psychology article, Nicole Martin notes that the number one reason young athletes play is to have fun, and that winning is not even in the top five participation motives for children and adolescents. Sociologist Jay Coakley, speaking at an Aspen Institute Project Play roundtable, described kids’ idea of fun as action, personal involvement in the action and “controlled uncertainty,” which is basically a challenge, plus playing with friends. A good mental toughness game has all of those.

Coaching older athletes? Our main list of mental toughness drills is built for teens and up. This page is the younger, sillier, shorter version.

Eight mental toughness games, at a glance

Every game below works in any team sport with a ball, a net or a goal. Most need nothing but what you already brought to practice. Say the cue out loud as a group the first few times so kids own it.

How to run each game: setup, time and cue

1. 01

   1. Next-play clap

   Setup: any normal drill. Rule: after any miss, the player claps once, says “next” and sprints back to their spot. Teammates clap too. Time: leave it running all practice. Why it works: the mistake gets a quick, silly ending instead of a long stare at the ground.

2. 02

   2. Bounce-back tag

   Setup: a coned box and two taggers. When tagged, a player doesn’t sit out. They put hands on knees, take one breath, say “back in” and rejoin. Time: 6 to 8 minutes, swapping taggers every 90 seconds. Coach note: praise the fastest bounce-backs, not the kids who never got tagged.

3. 03

   3. Bonus round

   Setup: normal shooting or serving reps worth 1 point each. The last rep of each round is the bonus shot, worth 5. The team counts down “3, 2, 1” out loud first. Time: 8 to 10 minutes. Cue: “Same as practice.” Let kids pick their distance so the challenge is real but not crushing.

4. 04

   4. Noise challenge

   Setup: one player performs a skill, like fielding a grounder or receiving a serve. Teammates cheer, clap and make crowd noise from a few steps away. Rules: no names, no insults, no touching. Time: 6 to 8 minutes, everyone takes a turn. Cue: “Eyes on it.”

5. 05

   5. Brave try points

   Setup: during a scrimmage, any player who attempts the skill you’re working on, like a weak-foot pass or a crossover, earns a team point whether it works or not. Time: 10 minutes. Cue: “Brave try.” This is the game that teaches kids a miss on a hard skill is better than a safe pass every time.

6. 06

   6. Balloon breath

   Setup: players stand still, hand on belly. Breathe in through the nose like filling a balloon, then out through the mouth like a slow leak. Do three. Then take one before a free throw, serve or at-bat. Time: 2 minutes. Cue: “Fill, slow.”

7. 07

   7. Curveball scrimmage

   Setup: a small-sided game. Every two or three minutes, blow the whistle and change one rule: three passes before a shot, weak hand only, a goal counts double. Time: 10 minutes. Cue: “Adjust.” Kids learn that a surprise doesn’t have to wreck their game.

8. 08

   8. Highlight huddle

   Setup: end of practice, quick circle. Each player names one thing they did well and one brave try. Coach goes last. Time: 3 to 5 minutes. Cue: “One good thing.” It’s the simplest way to start building helpful self-talk.

A sample week: fitting games into practice

You don’t need a separate mental skills day. Fold one game into the practice you already run and keep it going for a few weeks so it turns into a habit. The National Youth Sports Health & Safety Institute recommends giving children “opportunities to both win and face challenges to support resiliency and growth.” These games are a low-stakes way to do exactly that.

Backyard versions for parents

Keep the backyard version light. If your child says they’re done, they’re done. The goal is a kid who wants to keep playing, and a game that turns into homework stops working. More on that in how to be a good sports parent and what to say after a bad game.

What not to do in the name of toughness

Watch the dose too. The same institute suggests kids spend no more hours per week in structured sport than their age in years. A tired, overscheduled kid isn’t short on toughness. They’re short on rest.

And if a child seems more than nervous, like stomachaches before every game, trouble sleeping or wanting to quit, that’s not a drill problem. Talk with their parents and point the family to a pediatrician or licensed mental health professional. See when a coach should refer an athlete.

When they turn 13: the same skill, on their own

Every game here teaches one loop: notice the miss, use a short cue, get back to the next play. As kids grow, they can run that loop without a coach calling it. Read more in mental toughness for young athletes and how to reset after a mistake.

reset is the mental training app for athletes: short lessons, recorded guidance and an AI Coach, built with Dr. Braden Brown. Try a 2-minute reset, or join the waitlist.