For 35 years, one of my main goals was to try to instill confidence in every player. Most young children start out feeling confident, but as they age, they are more and more influenced by what others think and say. Which way their confidence goes often depends on the teaching and modeling of the most important adults in their lives.
True Confidence
Confidence is learned in many areas other than athletics. There is a feeling that confidence is reserved for just the most talented players — the easiest way to be confident is to be very talented, and those kids are fun to coach. But think what a difference you can make on your team if you can raise the confidence level of every kid: every player who develops more confidence helps your team incrementally. An athlete shouldn't have to be the best player to gain confidence. Confidence is something we believe should be learned even if they seldom get off the bench.