“You have to believe in yourself when no one else does — that makes you a winner right there.”
–Venus Williams
Building confidence in young athletes requires some planning. Just think of yourself.
There are days when you feel good about yourself, and there are days when you don’t. What’s important is that you learn to push and perform in those days when things might not go our way. Pushing yourself to slog through a hard time requires motivation, which comes from self-confidence.
Self-confidence is the secret ingredient that all successful athletes seem to possess regardless of what level they compete.
Self-confidence plays a key role in performance. Performing to your full physical potential becomes easy when you are confident about your capabilities. However, the same performance potential can dwindle significantly if your self-confidence is low.
Fortunately, self-confidence is a characteristic attribute that can be learned over time. Unfortunately, this quality is not easy to achieve. There is a constant struggle in all of us where one part is eager to succeed, and the other is happy and complacent within its comfort zone.
Like any parent, instilling confidence is important if you want your kids to excel in education and sports. Self-confidence is undoubtedly the pillar of an athlete’s career success.
7 Ways to Build Confidence in Young Athletes
While some people seem to be born with more than their fair share of self-confidence, it can also be acquired. Parents and coaches can help. Here are some suggestions when coaching and parenting kids.
1) Be Patient
The first step in building confidence in a child is to teach them patience. It is not uncommon for young athletes to feel devastated when the picture they have painted in their minds fails to conform with reality. As a coach or parent, you must make them understand there are no failures. There is only another opportunity to attend a high degree of personal excellence. This realization gives them a positive attitude towards life, making them one of the toughest competitors on the field.
2) Break the Cycle of Doubt
Even the best athletes suffer from self-doubt, which is not uncommon. However, it becomes dangerous when an athlete lets the cycle of doubt take permanent roots in his psyche. Doubtful thoughts can create a sense of anger, frustration, anxiousness, and disappointment, and as a result, it is common for young athletes to give up all hope they once had.
As a coach or parent, you can break the cycle of self-doubt by encouraging your kid or students to argue with their pessimism. Ask him questions that would make him seek evidence for his belief. When you teach them how to undermine confidence in competition, you take them one step closer to developing stable self-confidence.
3) Reinforce Performance Accomplishment
When a young athlete performs well in any competition, it is one of the most powerful factors that impact his self-confidence. Conversely, confidence can drop substantially when athletes fail to perform. A good way to boost self-confidence is to help athletes remember past successes in practice and competition. You can highlight either a big accomplishment or a small one to boost their self-confidence.
Reinforcing past accomplishments is intended to help athletes relive those moments of glory and achieve a confidence boost. Studies have shown that confidence does matter.
4) Focus On Their Talents
It is good to have a hero or idol who can inspire them. However, when people put someone on a pedestal, thinking they are better than them, their chances of feeling less confident multiply. As a coach, you must remind your students of their talents and strengths as athletes.
5) Recognize Efforts Not Just Performance
Like every drop in the ocean, which contributes to vastness, every participant in a sporting event helps make an athlete feel more confident about his capabilities. It is a general tendency among people to look down upon participation trophies.
Everyone wants to secure a place on the victory stand. However, as a coach, you must keep the kids engaged in sports, regardless of how many trophies they manage to win. Recognizing every small win is important in building a child’s self-confidence. Even a participation certificate in a sport like soccer might sow the seed of a future Christiano Ronaldo or Jenny Finch in your kid’s mind.
6) Encourage Sports And Other Physical Activities
Sports are no longer considered the sole domain of boys. Participating in sports and physical activity teaches a child to improve their sense of independence. Physical activity helps her child to recognize their strength and accept their weakness.
Through sports, kids learn the value of teamwork and the art of handling defeat. A physically active body automatically keeps the brain healthy and well-organized. Expanding the horizon of experience and making new friends can help a kid build self-confidence.
7) Give Praise When Deserved
A child’s psyche is very fragile, and she is prone to determining her self-worth based on the opinions of her parents and coaches. Therefore, giving your child positive feedback without hurting his sense of self-worth is important. If a child fails to perform well in a particular event, you can always pay for his effort but not unrealistically praise the results. As a coach or parent, help them set realistic goals and teach them that sometimes it takes repeated effort and practice to achieve perfection.
Finally, as a coach or a parent, you should never burden your child or student with expectations. Just allow them the space to enjoy the game and develop a love for sports.
By Mike O’Halloran
Founder and Editor, Sports Feel Good Stories
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