As many of you know, I am a huge football fan—especially when it comes to Oklahoma Sooners football. There’s nothing quite like the excitement of game day, watching a team work together toward a common goal, and seeing athletes grow through dedication, discipline, and perseverance.

But one of the most important lessons sports teach our children isn’t always about winning.

Whether your child plays football, soccer, volleyball, basketball, baseball, softball, tennis, golf, swimming, track, gymnastics, dance, or any other activity, sports provide incredible opportunities for physical health, confidence, leadership, teamwork, and lifelong friendships.

At Julie Tomberlin MD PA, we encourage children and teens to stay active and participate in both team sports and individual sports. Team sports help kids learn communication, cooperation, and how to contribute to something bigger than themselves. Individual sports teach self-discipline, personal accountability, and the importance of setting and achieving goals.

And sometimes, one of the greatest lessons comes when things don't go as planned.

Not Making the Team Can Build Resilience

As parents, it's difficult to watch our children experience disappointment. Whether it's not making the team, not getting the starting position, or not performing as well as they hoped, these moments can be painful.

However, these experiences often become some of the most valuable opportunities for growth.

Resilience isn't developed when everything goes right. Resilience develops when children learn how to handle setbacks, regroup, work harder, and try again.

Many successful athletes, professionals, and leaders can point to moments when they didn't make the team, didn't get selected, or faced failure—and those experiences ultimately helped shape their future success.

As parents, our goal shouldn't be to remove every obstacle. Instead, we can help our children learn that disappointment is temporary, effort matters, and their worth is never determined by a roster spot.

Five Tips to Help Athletes Prepare for Tryouts

1. Train Smart, Not Just Hard

Preparing for tryouts requires conditioning, strength, endurance, and skill development. However, athletes should avoid overtraining in the days leading up to tryouts.

The goal is to arrive prepared, energized, and recovered—not exhausted.

Encourage your athlete to focus on:

• Cardiovascular fitness
• Strength training
• Speed and agility
• Proper recovery

2. Practice Mental Preparation

Tryouts can create anxiety even for experienced athletes.

Help your child:

• Visualize success
• Practice deep breathing
• Focus and reward effort rather than outcomes
• One of the most important lessons is learning not to compare themselves to others. The only athlete they need to compete with is the version of themselves from yesterday.

3. Fuel Your Body Properly

Athletes perform best when they are properly fueled and hydrated.

Before tryouts:

• Eat a balanced meal with carbohydrates and protein
• Stay hydrated throughout the day
• Avoid heavy, greasy foods
• Don't experiment with new foods on tryout day

Simple options include:

• Eggs, toast, and fruit
• Turkey roll up and fruit
• Banana with peanut butter
• Smoothie if solid foods are difficult before activity

4. Prioritize Sleep

Sleep is one of the most overlooked performance enhancers available.

Children ages 6–12 should get:

• 9–12 hours of sleep nightly

Teens should aim for:

• 8–10 hours of sleep nightly

Good sleep improves:

• Reaction time
• Endurance
• Focus
• Mood
• Recovery

5. Be Coachable

Coaches aren't just evaluating athletic talent.

They're looking for athletes who:

• Work hard
• Listen well
• Encourage teammates
• Accept feedback
• Demonstrate good sportsmanship

A positive attitude and willingness to learn often make a lasting impression.

Remember What Really Matters

At the end of the day, sports should be fun.

The lessons learned through sports—hard work, perseverance, teamwork, humility, resilience, and leadership—often matter far more than the final score or whether a child makes a particular team.

So as tryout season approaches, encourage your child to prepare, work hard, and give their best effort. And if things don't go exactly as planned, remind them that setbacks are often the first chapter of future success.

As a lifelong sports fan and pediatrician, I've seen firsthand how athletics can help shape confident, resilient young adults. Whether your child makes the team this year or not, the character they build along the way will serve them for a lifetime.

Julie Tomberlin MD PA

Julie Tomberlin MD and her excellent nurse practitioners are proud to support young athletes and their families throughout every season of life. Dr Julie also specializes in helping young athletes optimize their performance. Please call the office if you'd like more information. And don't forget when those sports physicals are due, we want to make sure they don't miss a tryout opportunity!

Call us today: 682-518-8111 
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