The Importance of Confidence in Youth Sports
Confidence is the Number One trait that determines whether young athletes achieve their potential in youth sports.
When kids lack confidence, they start doubting themselves, stop taking risks, play tentatively, and are hard on themselves.
As a result, kids often lose their motivation to improve. Ultimately, these barriers keep them from enjoying sports and making the most of their physical talent.
As sports parents and coaches, you play a critical role in determining whether your young athletes feel confident….
What you say, what you do with your hands and body during games or competitions—even how you think about sports—will affect your kids’ confidence profoundly.
Here are some of the top confidence killers for young athletes:
- They hold high expectations (“I need to make four 3-pointers and block five shots in today’s game”).
- They call themselves negative names (“I’m too skinny to play football”).
- They tell themselves I can’t… statements (“I can’t score when I play against this team”).
- They harbor other goofy beliefs (“I only score if I eat granola bars for breakfast or wear a red headband”).
- They doubt their abilities. (Can I really make that shot?)
- They worry about what everyone thinks of them. (“Coach is going to bench me if I make a mistake. My friend Sarah is here watching and may not like how I look.”)
- The make comparisons to others athletes who they think are better than them.
Most young athletes struggle with at least some of the above confidence killers.
But here’s the good news. Kids can learn how to overcome these confidence busters. When they do this, parents and coaches see radical changes in their attitude and performance.
Confident sports kids embrace competition and thrive on it. They aren’t afraid of taking risks. They maintain a high level of confidence even after making mistakes.
Their self-talk—what they say to themselves while practicing or performing—is positive and supportive. They know what they’re doing and generally perform better than kids who lack confidence, even if they’re less talented than the other kids.
Related Articles on Kids’ Mental Game:
- How This Sport Builds Confidence and Focus in Kids
- Addressing Anxiety, Mistakes and Low Confidence in Youth Sports
- How Elite Teams Can Hurt Kids’ Confidence
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We’re certain that, as a parent, you want to help your child develop confidence and discipline in sports and life. And as a sports parent, you’d love for your children to reach their potential in sports. But encouraging your child to strive for greatness without pressuring them can be a challenge.
You can get expert mental coaching with us from anywhere. Meet with us via Zoom, Skype, FaceTime or phone call. With today’s video technology, we are able to connect with athletes and coaches all over the globe.
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All of the above confidence killers you mentioned become distractions, effecting performance. The negative thoughts literally drain energy. If they are having these doubts about their performance when playing sports, they are likely to be experiencing doubts in other areas of their life as well. Consider how often they are quietly beating themselves up. The worst part is if there is no intervention, this self criticism continues into their adult life. Fortunately there is information available to teach athletes, no matter what age, to focus on their strengths, build their confidence and improve their performance on and off the field.
I’m very interested in the program and would like to find out more about it.
My son who is 12yrs old wrestles spectacularly in practice, but during meets chokes up and loses to first year wrestlers, on top of that he compulsively eats before and after his matches.My husband who happens to be a volunteer coach said something wrong to him, he said “I’m sick of seeing you lose so why don’t you just quit!.and he said it in front of other team mates and coaches. I don’t have to be a psychologist to tell you that was the wrong thing to say.So yes please feel free to contact me about this program, I would love to share it with the wrestling team, my husband, but especially my wonderful son, who definitively needs a confidence boost.