Confidence
What is it, improve it, use it to develop..... Others.
Confidence is a word we hear used a great deal, in my opinion sometimes loosely as a perceived 'OK' word to cover some context. However, can we define it?
Is it simply a positive mental attitude, a strong self belief?
In essence it is having a belief that you can quite adequately perform the given task to hand or indeed behave or react in a given way competently. Other definitions mention such words as:
Trust, faith, credence and conviction.
So what may be important to understand for grassroots coaches?
If in a football sense we take - self confidence as our belief in our ability to perform certain tasks then this becomes a really important area for consideration. What as a coach are you actually trying to 'achieve'? The transference of your perceived confidence will have a direct impact on your players, after all it is fine to have belief in your own ability, however the vehicle for this and any 'success' are
the players in your care.
Being confident is key in you potentially portraying a positive demeanour, it may make you a little calmer, it may make you a touch more measured. It may allow you to stay focused and controlled.
It may help you set a positive environment and ensure good delivery. However, as we all know the confident coach treads a fine line with perceived arrogance, be very careful as a coach as to how you are perceived outside of 'self', by peers, players & parents.
If we agree that confidence is an important area for a coach it must be equally important for the players. Taking some of the words above; trust, faith, credence, these in feel transfer equally well to the players. Therefore having the confidence and ability to build confidence is the key and true test.
Individual confidence varies immensely; a player may be confident in dribbling, but not in passing. A Goalkeeper may have confidence in shot stopping but not in distribution. Therefore knowing that a great save may lead to distributing the ball may have an longer term impact on their confidence in shot stopping?
Therefore if you can be supportive and Instil your confidence in them then your positive belief and confidence will act as a powerful conduit. Merely praising them appropriately for what they are already competent in acts as good practice for reinforcement. However catching them 'Doing something good' as they will invariably do on occasions in an area they need more confidence in is a powerful tool.Be specific, not to frequent, and the player will at the very least think that this is an area they can confidently try again, gain confidence & more experience in.
This for me is where a confident coach who breeds confidence in their players, understands it's about them, understands that this is where their own development lies is the 'confident' coach.
In summary, personal improvement will help sustain and build confidence and self esteem.
Back to the beginning, reflect on how you 'portray' your confident demeanour. If you are only confident because you win, how will you react when you eventually lose? How will you instil belief in your players when they lose theirs or come across a more difficult challenge?
Remember, it's about the players. Remember, confidence can be managed & therefore developed & positive and specific praise will help this development. 'Catch them doing something good' support them in trying to get better on and off the field. reaffirm your 'Confidence' in them.
