The best piece of advice four-time Olympic medalist Angela Ruggiero ever got was from her dad, who told her, since her dream was to play professional hockey, to always pretend when she was playing that a pro scout was watching her from the stands. Ruggeiro's advice to young athletes: work hard, but have fun, because if the sport isn't fun, the athlete will get bored, but pushing yourself is the only way to get better.
Links:
[1] https://mail.momsteam.com/successful-parenting/youth-sports-about-learning-fundamentals-having-fun
[2] https://mail.momsteam.com/successful-parenting/fun-learn-compete-tranforming-sports-into-lifelong-passion