How to Help Teammates Struggling With Confidence
What do you do when you notice a teammate struggling with confidence on the court?
A recent question from our readers asked:
“How do you help teammates who are struggling with confidence?”
Confidence can be low or fragile on the court for many reasons…
Volleyball players lose confidence after making mistakes, or maybe they feel they aren’t getting any results from all their training.
Or, volleyball players might struggle to believe in themselves if they get little playing time or others consistently give negative feedback.
Another reason volleyball players may have low or fragile confidence is that they fail to meet their high, strict expectations they have on court.
I had a tough coach one year in college, and much of our team struggled to believe in themselves.
In serve receive, if you made two errors in a single rotation, you would get pushed back and we would receive with only two people.
I was a 6-rotation outside, so I was a player who was always in serve receive. I remember a teammate of mine, a DS, who would be so nervous when she came in because she continued to think about what would happen if she made two errors.
This player was a solid DS, great in serve receive in practice.
Though, she often had a tough time in games because she constantly worried about getting “pushed back.”
Since she had been pulled out of serve receive before in a game, the belief in her ability to perform in those situations dropped.
You could literally see her hands shaking while waiting for the serve.
My teammate struggled in games with serve receive and confidence, and nothing anyone ever said could pick her back up.
That’s because confidence must come from within YOU.
As a player, self-confidence is YOUR responsibility.
While external factors can often influence a volleyball players’ confidence, ultimately, it’s up to you how confident your think.
For teammates who struggle with their confidence, you can only continue to encourage and support them on the floor.
Teammates will continue to put forth effort because they at least think you believe in them.
Also, inspire your teammates to develop their own level of unwavering confidence based on their strengths and special talents.
Help them recognize their strengths and talk to themselves confidently.
Even after mistakes, support them in talking to themselves confidently.
Related Sports Psychology Articles
- How to Prepare for Pressure in Volleyball
- How to Develop a Champion Mindset in Volleyball
- Fragile Confidence and Perfectionism in Volleyball
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The Mental Edge For Volleyball Players
Do you over think your performance in games? Do you lose confidence easily after a couple of blow plays? Do you become so frustrated with your game that you can’t focus on the next play?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, it’s a good bet that your mental game might prevent you from consistent performance in games…
“The Mental Edge For Volleyball” program is ideal for any club, academy, college, or professional volleyball players. In addition, volleyball coaches, instructors, and parents would also be wise to teach the strategies we provide in “The Mental Edge For Volleyball” to their players.