Confidence:
-Mental Preparation.
Studying scouting reports, watching film, and focusing on assignments during practice allows you to perform in games with confidence. When you know your assignments everything becomes automatic.
-Hard Work.
The physical preparation during strength and conditioning workouts, and the consistent effort put forth in practice helps increase your belief in yourself. You gain confidence when you know that you have outworked your opponent.
-Remembering Past Successes.
As a part of your pre-game preparation visualize times when you have been successful. Replay in your mind your own highlight tape.
-Being able to let go of mistakes.
“The biggest mistake an athlete can make is to be afraid to make one.”
Everyone will make mistakes. If you can learn from mistakes, let them go, and move on to the next play you will be successful. Athletes who let mistakes erode their confidence and play with a fear of failure will not perform to their potential.
-Making the choice to be confident.
Use positive self-talk. To increase your self-confidence, say, think, and imagine positive thoughts. Use key words or phrases to motivate yourself and prevent negative thoughts or images from taking over your mind-set. You should expect to be successful, not hope or wish to be successful.
*Taken From a Presentation From Kevin VanderBusch, Ben Davis High School