The Positives and Perils of Perfectionism in Young Athletes – A conversation with Lewis Hatchett

In this episode mindset/performance coach and former professional cricketer Lewis Hatchett joins Gordon MacLelland to discuss the positives and perils of perfectionism and what we should be looking out for in helping to support our young performers.

During the conversation they discuss amongst other things:

• Lewis’ own personal battles with perfectionism throughout his career
• Why not all elements of perfectionism are bad when it comes to performance
• Spotting the signs of perfectionist tendencies in our young people
• Having the right and most realistic levels of expectation when it comes to performance
• The importance of allowing our young people to experience failure
• Helping our children focus predominantly on their regular process goals
• Working with our children to help them understand what their ‘minimum, viable performance'(MVP) looks like
• Encouraging our children to use practice and training time efficiently
• Helping our children strive for excellencism rather than perfectionism

Lewis Hatchett is a Mindset and Mental Performance Coach, Former Professional Cricketer, MSc Student of Performance Psychology at Bangor University, Host of the Raising Your Game Podcast and Creator of the MindStrong Sport App.

Additional Reading

Positive self-talk: What is it and how do we encourage it as sports parents?

How can you help develop resilience in your sporting children?