Emotional Warrior-Caring Too Much⚔️
The Double-Edged Sword of Caring: Supporting My Son’s Emotional Growth Through Sports
By Brittney Ruggieri
As a mental performance coach and a mom, I’m constantly balancing two lenses: the professional strategies I teach to athletes, and the real-life emotions I witness in my own children. My son is a multi-sport athlete—football, soccer, and lacrosse—and brings a kind of natural, intrinsic confidence to everything he does. He knows he’s capable. He trusts his talent. He believes he can rise to any occasion. And he usually does.
But what makes him exceptional is also what makes things hard.
He cares deeply. He plays with heart. He puts everything into the game—and sometimes, when things don’t go his way, it hurts more than he knows how to handle.
For him, emotional regulation isn’t about lack of confidence—it’s about the weight of caring so much. When he misses a play, feels like he let down a teammate, or doesn’t meet his own internal standard, the frustration spills out. It’s not about attitude—it’s about emotional overflow. And as a mom, that can be tough to watch.
What I’ve come to understand is that this combination—confidence plus deep emotional investment—is incredibly powerful, but it needs support. These are the kids who lead teams, inspire coaches, and show up with passion. But they’re also the kids who may storm off the field, throw a helmet, or struggle to process failure in a healthy way.
The truth is: caring isn’t the problem. In fact, it’s the magic. But like any strength, it needs to be trained, shaped, and supported.
Through his journey, we’ve been working on how to:
Identify emotional triggers before they erupt
Channel intensity into productive leadership
Use breathwork and body awareness to stay grounded
Reframe mistakes as data, not as identity
Understand that emotional regulation isn’t about not feeling—it’s about owning the response
In many ways, my work with athletes like him has come full circle—because I’m living it at home. And if your athlete is like mine—confident, talented, and deeply invested—but struggling to navigate the emotional highs and lows of competitive sport, you’re not alone.
This isn’t about fixing them—it’s about equipping them. Helping them understand that their emotions are valid, their care is their superpower, and their ability to lead begins with learning how to lead themselves through the tough moments.
Let’s Equip the Whole Athlete
At MindRondo, I help student-athletes build the mindset tools they need to handle pressure, grow through failure, and turn passion into power. If your athlete has a strong will and a big heart—but needs help navigating the emotional ride of sports—I’d love to support them.
📩 Email me at brittney@mindrondo.com
Let’s give them the tools to stay grounded, stay focused, and keep leading—on and off the field.