Coming off the Blame Game - what to do when your player loses their confidence

We talked last week about coaching badly. Now, what happens when your players lose their confidence?

Confidence is one of the greatest gifts a parent, coach, or teacher can give a child. A kid who lacks confidence will be reluctant to try new or challenging things because he or she is scared of failing or disappointing others.

 

 

This can hold them back later in life and prevent them from having a successful career.

"The enemies of confidence are discouragement and fear," so, as the coach, it's your job to encourage and support your players as they attempt to tackle difficult tasks.

Oftentimes when players lack confidence in their game, they instantly try to do more; they start to force things and eventually end up doing more harm and making more mistakes. It's your responsibility as a coach to recognize a player struggling, and rather than forcing the player to play harder, simplify the game. Easier said than done, but yes, it's that easy: Just simplify and have patience. It's a challenge for players to be asked to play a simple game because the player feels like he's not contributing as much as he can.

Here are five simple ways to rebuild confidence in a player:

 

1. Do Not Fear Failure
 

Confidence boils down to the battle between faith and fear. A lack of confidence means you're afraid to fail. A fear of failure will paralyze you if you allow your fear to alter the way you play your game or sport. Fear is a powerful emotion; don't let it get the best of you.

The best professional athletes know they're going to miss shots or make mistakes from time to time, but because they have confidence in their ability, they never give up.

During his career, Michael Jordan missed more shots than he made; imagine what might have happened if he had stopped playing hard because he was having an off-shooting day. The only way to avoid missing shots is to stop shooting.

Do not be afraid to fail.

 

2. Focus on Doing Your Best
 

Whenever a team steps on the ice, their objective is to win. The desire to win, however, shouldn't cause you to lose sight of your most important goal --- doing your best. The best team doesn't always win; it's the team that plays the best that usually wins.

There's no shame in losing if you do your best. Sometimes, your opponent is simply better than you; other times, it's just a matter of bad luck. Instead of worrying about wins and losses, focus on doing your absolute best.

The wins will come if you and your teammates play hard. Focus on doing your best rather than being the best.

 

 

3. Start off Easy
 

A simple way to improve your confidence is to start with something that is the foundation of the player you are. For example, as a goalie, simply getting on the ice early, going through strict movements, and having stationary shots being taken on you where you can focus on tracking the puck all the way into your body over and over helps you build a rhythm and gain confidence in your ability to make saves.

 

4. Practice
 

Above all, the best thing you can do to improve your confidence is practice.

Confidence is based on evidence and experience, and this comes from practice. If you constantly work on your skills, you'll know what you're capable of and have more faith in your ability. You'll be able to relax and perform with confidence in games because you've put in the time during practice.

 

 

Written by Robb Tallas and the CoachThem Team

 

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