Self Confidence in Sport

[Konspiracy]

My 16 year old son is a very good player who wants to play at the highest level possible. However whenever he has a poor game his confidence drops through the floor. I am at a loss to explain that all players have bad games. He says he doesnt want the ball & 'hides' in a match when this happens. Im sure it happens to nealy all young players but what can you do & say to an intelligent but sensitive young player?

[daffy654]

My son is the team goalie for his school and has exactly the same problem,we always tell him that any individual player is only as good as the team,if the team are having an off day then one player can't be expected to support them all by being superman.

[CT]

Some tennis related stuff I stumbled upon the other day. Might not be the correct sport but still offers useful tips.
http://www.tennismindgame.com/tennis-psycholog y.html

[sarnieken]

I have played in goal for various school and local teams for 23 years now and have faced my fair share of abuse from well, everyone.

Your son should realise that the important thing is to enjoy the game.
If he makes a mistake or has a poor game then he should be encouraged to look at why he missed the pass, or conceded the goal or missed the shot. Then he should resolve to practice and better himself.

Tell him that even premiership players have bad games. Look at the lads last night!! Tell him that those players will all be feeling really bad but they will be back with their regular teams on Saturday and will be trying harder and getting better.

If at first you don't succeed, try, try again.

Good luck,
K

[Konspiracy]

Thanks for the advice, he's had a good training session and his head is up again for the time being. Told him to do the simple things right & get stuck in. Dont think too much when youre playing but play off the cuff. Lets see what the wekend brings and his next game.

[Konspiracy]

CT, thanks for posting the link re the tennis article & self confidence. Just had a look at it & its very interesting. My son would like to learn/study sports psycholgy. I have often told him do not think too much when playing & do what comes naturally, give 100% & you will succeed. I know he's a good player, his manager starts him every game & he has won many trophies at different clubs as player of the year. He is fit, never misses training but thinks too deeply when playing - how do you stop an intlligent lad from almost lateral thinking during a game. Needs to adopt a cave man mentality & block out any thoughts whatsoever.