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.
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.
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:
2. Practice Mental Preparation
Tryouts can create anxiety even for experienced athletes.
Help your child:
3. Fuel Your Body Properly
Athletes perform best when they are properly fueled and hydrated.
Before tryouts:
Simple options include:
4. Prioritize Sleep
Sleep is one of the most overlooked performance enhancers available.
Children ages 6–12 should get:
Teens should aim for:
Good sleep improves:
5. Be Coachable
Coaches aren't just evaluating athletic talent.
They're looking for athletes who:
A positive attitude and willingness to learn often make a lasting impression.
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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