What role do coaches play in building self confidence

[riseball]

I do all I can to build confidence in my players, but on the flip side I am also brutally honest. I don't pump them full of sunshine just to make them feel good. But I will go out of my way to stay positive even in the face of failure. We focus on the little things and find victories where we can. If you are afraid to fail, you will never succeed. I try to get my players to the point where they constantly strive for success, but are not afraid to fail. As they say at SC, "Do not be a flat squirrel!"

 

[bmd]

Coaches have a lot of influence over their players whether its part of their job description or not. Players look at their coaches for leadership. Coaches' leadership and influence can be positive or negative. When it is positive it really shows and when it is negative it really shows. My advice is when you have the opportunity to be selective of who you let influence and lead your child. My kid had a hateful negative in your face type coach for year and a half.....about destroyed her and almost made her hate the game. Found a new coach and the love for the game came back almost instantly. Rebuilding her self confidence has taken alot longer to do.

 

[grcsftbll]

Honesty is good. Our coach gives a very matter of fact breakdown after each game. Every girl will know what she needs to work on. But it's done in a way that is not personal or insulting. Our last coach yelled swears from the dugout when girls made errors. 9 year olds. IMO that isn't ok. I don't think they need sugar coating. They need to know what to work on if they're going to get better. But it should be done in a way that isn't angry and overly emotional.

 

[Little Angels Softball]

A coach absolutely has a responsibility to build confidence in his players. With girls, if you aren't thinking about their confidence with absolutely everything you do, then you're doing it wrong.

 

[JAD]

Coaches can help with confidence, but it needs to come from home as well. One of the best ways I know to build confidence in your DD is to work with her outside of regular practices helping her to improve her skills. If you are expecting the coaching staff to do everything while you sit at home on the couch you are not doing it right.

"Good players practice till they get it right, great players practice until they cannot get it wrong" ~ unknown

 

[grcsftbll]

Mostly I just want a coach who doesn't sabotage my kid's confidence.

 

[Cannonball]

Check back in. Young lady had a basehit last night, a sac fly that was on the fence and two balls caught on the fence as the OFs moved as deep as they could on our field. NO kidding, they were literally 2 feet from the fence. So, approach worked. Confidence? I think it worked as well when I asked her what happens when we play a normal team that will not stand on the fence. Tonight is another game. (We're 7-2 right now)

 

[wild man]

Coaches have way more influence on a young person than many of them ever realize. A Coach has the ability to keep a kid going, make them soar, or completely ruin them. These kids look up to their Coach and try to see them as a positive individual. I think building confidence is the Coaches job, I mean how can they get any better if they don't feel good about them selves. The longer a Coach has the same players the more they believe in them. I once had a group that I had Coached for six years and by the sixth year they didn't even look at me the same any more. They tend to put so much confidence in you that a Coach has to be very careful, Yes a Coach has immense power and he must use it wisely.

 

[Bubrox]

Some coaches coach every player the same and the great coaches coach every player differently. All girls have strengths and weaknesses. A great coach will help with both.

 

[Cannonball]

The young lady I worked with was 3 for 5 tonight and was hitting ropes. Her confidence is sky high again. We played a very good program that our school has not beaten in a few years. We won. (BTW, I was wrong about the previous post and this young lady. She had 2 hits. I missed her first hit.) Anyway, my job is to teach/coach fundamentals and what I know about the game. In doing so, I try to tell my players how great they can be but they have to buy in to it. In a way I help build confidence but they are responsible for nurturing it.