Building a Players Confidence

It's difficult to be consistently good in the game of baseball. When it comes down to it, baseball is a very tough game and when a player struggles at the plate, on the mound, or in the field, those problems will often be magnified in the mind of the player.  Those negative thoughts and loss of confidence will hinder his ability to perform at a high level.

With All-Stars under way for youth leagues and new teams forming for summer, there will be opportunities for each coach to take a kid who had a tough spring and try to help him get things back on track for summer. 

Show Confidence to Build Confidence
The most important thing you can do as a coach is consistently show a player that you believe in him.  A player who has lost confidence and feels the coach doesn't believe in him will have a difficult time getting back on track. 

So how do you do that? 
Some coaches will give feedback of "Great try" or "You'll get it next time" after a strikeout or an error.  While that's better than kicking the dirt or turning your back on the player, it doesn't do anything to help build confidence in the player or show that you have confidence in the player.  If that is consistently the only feedback that is provided, it shows the player that you don't have any expectations that he can be successful.

With a player that's struggling, try and give specific coaching advice for the player to focus on and spend extra time coaching the player.  You can do this during practice and during the games. 

Game Time
Rather than saying "Great try" after a player strikes out, give him something he can use.  "John, you had two great swings at that at bat, but you swung under both pitches.  Next at bat, I want you to focus on the top of the ball.  Everything else looked good, you were just under it."  This gives him two statements of positive feedback along with one piece of coaching advice.

You can do the same thing on a missed ground ball. "Great job of getting in good position.  Make sure you start with your glove low to the ground and then come up with the ball.  You've made that play all season long and you'll continue to make it the rest of the summer."

Practice
Whether it is hitting, pitching, or fielding, a player that is struggling is often focusing in on the possible negative result of failing instead of the process.  Try to get your players to focus in on the process by giving them simple fundamentals to work and focus on.

With hitters that are struggling, I usually start with vision.  If you can get them to focus on picking the ball out of the pitchers hand and following it all the way to the plate, you'll often see that player pull out of a batting slump.

Fielders who are having a tough time are often not moving well because they don't want the ball to be hit to them, they seem to be frozen in place.  Work on getting them relaxed and moving on every ball that is hit.  Give them a pre-pitch routine to focus on and make sure they are moving as the ball crosses the plate.

Pitchers who are having a tough time are often having a difficult time with focus.  Same problem with a hitter, they see the negative result before it even happens.  Again try to get them to focus on being consistent with their delivery and picking up the target early.

Extra Time
Spending extra time with a player shows that you care, that you are interested in having him be successful and that you believe he can be successful.  For me this is really one of the great joys of coaching; helping a player who is struggling for one reason or another become successful.  There really is no shortcut; you need to spend extra time with the player to help him build confidence over time. 

Don Edlin
Owner
QCBaseball.com