I saw this in the NY Times today and was just speechless – parents sending their kids to sports psychologists:

The idea that mental coaching can help the youngest athletes has pervaded the upper reaches of the country’s zealous youth sports culture. In the pursuit of college scholarships and top spots on premier travel clubs, the families of young athletes routinely pay for personal strength coaches, conditioning coaches, specialized skill coaches like pitching or hitting instructors, nutritionists and recruiting consultants. Now, the personal sports psychologist has joined the entourage.

“Parents tell me that they’ve put so much money into their child’s athletic development that they’re not going to leave any stone unturned if it might help them achieve,” said Marty Ewing, a former president of the Association of Applied Sport Psychology. “And obviously, we do have ways to help enrich performance.”

I’m sorry – but sending a 9 year old to a sports psychologist is crazy. Best quote from the article:

Dr. Gould said the parents of a 14-year-old tennis player were concerned their son was not focused all the time. His response was, ” ‘Yeah, he’s 14 – that’s pretty normal.’ ”

Pretty much. I can see if a child is having a major mental block over something and it prevents them from even participating in a sport they love. MAYBE then it would make sense – but 12 sessions at $225 a pop?

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