Coaching Confidence: How to Develop Confident Players

by Jeff Janssen, M.S. (University of Arizona)

Confidence: A Skill Necessary for Winning

Some coaches win with smothering man to man defences, others with match-ups and various zones. Some coaches rely on high-octane fast breaks, while others stress the importance of patience and working for the open, high percentage shot. While different strategies all can produce winning results, few coaches can win without confidence. A confident team can run almost any offense and set up any

defence and still be successful. Thus, the key becomes not so much what you run, but how much does your team believe in its ability to be successful? As all successful coaches know, coaching goes beyond the X's and O's into the hearts and minds of the people they teach. Developing a confident team is one of your most important tasks as a coach. Confidence is one of those important "intangibles"

that allows a team to rise to the next level. Take a moment to assess your coaching by reflecting on the following questions. How do I build my player's confidence on a daily basis? Do I do anything that erodes the confidence of my players? Daily Effort to Build Confidence While some coaches leave confidence to chance hoping that somehow it will miraculously descend on their team, successful coaches consciously build and develop confidence on a daily basis. Just as various offences and defences can be worked on and strengthened, so too, can confidence. If you are not doing so already, try working some of the following suggestions for developing confident players into your coaching and practices.

1. Display a consistent belief in your player's abilities and potential. Show and tell your players that you believe in their ability to be successful through your words and

actions. Set high yet realistic expectations for each player and help them met those expectations. Convince them that they can reach their goals if they are willing to put in the necessary time and effort. Your belief and confidence in a player can often

make or break him. Whether he is a "project" with a lot of potential or an outside shooter in a slump, your unwavering confidence is often an important key in helping him be successful. A player can quickly sense when a coach has given up on him. Remember that sometimes players don't realise how good they could be, and it takes a patient and confident coach to help them realise their potential.

2. Emphasise proper preparation through quality practices. Proper preparation gives players the right to feel confident. Quality preparation and practices are the

price of success. Thus, you and your players must realise the importance of getting the most out of your practices. Quality practices give players the right to feel confident because they have done the necessary work to be successful. It is a matter of getting your players to expect that they deserve to be successful because they have invested the necessary time and energy. 3. Use practices to simulate a variety of potential game situations. Knowing what to expect is another important factor

for building confidence. By simulating various game situations, your players learn exactly how you want them to respond because they have worked on it in practice. Doubt and confusion arise when players are put into situations that they have not experienced before or are unsure of what to expect. The play you draw up when you're down one with five seconds to go should not be the first time your players have seen or run it. Design your practices to include working against various offences and defences, as well as a myriad of possible late game situations.

4. Design practices and drills so that players achieve small, early successes.

Recognise that you are also trying to build confidence as you build physical skills. Structure practices and drills so that players can achieve some small, early successes. Set challenging yet attainable daily goals so that players can see progress being made. Many coaches similarly structure their preseason schedules to play some easier teams early and leave the more challenging teams until later.

These early, small successes will help to build a strong base of confidence that will be beneficial later when you are tested against the better teams.

5. Call attention to successes with specific and sincere praise. How much of your coaching is positive and how much is negative? Research has shown that successful coaches give an average of three positive, instructional comments ("Mike, way to dribble the ball down to get a better angle for your post entry pass") to every one negative comment (Mike, your passing is killing us"). Encourage players to move

toward success rather than away from failure. Too many coaches try to win by having their players fear making mistakes, instead of encouraging and rewarding players for making plays. Set a goal to recognise and promote the good things that your

players are doing while calling less attention to their mistakes.