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.
If you have not done so already, please take a moment to give us your feedback about your mental game and how we can help you better by taking our survey:
The Mental Game of Volleyball Feedback
We’d appreciate if you tell us about the mental game challenges you and your volleyball players face and how we can help you improve your mental game in volleyball.
Below is a link to a short survey. It should take only one minute of your time. (Of course, the survey is anonymous.)
This survey will give us the input we need to bring you the most relevant and practical information about how to improve your mental toughness in volleyball.
Please take one minute to complete this survey. In return, you can download a free bonus to improve serve receive mental preparation:
Mental Game of Volleyball Survey
Boost Your Self-Confidence With Expert Mental Game Coaching!
Expert mental game coach Dr. Megan Melchiorre can help you overcome your volleyball mental game issues with personal coaching.
You can work with Dr. Megan Melchiorre herself in Orlando, Florida or via Skype, FaceTime, or telephone. Call us toll free at 888-742-7225 or contact us for more information about the different coaching programs we offer!
Dr. Megan Melchiorre is a mental game coach specializing in volleyball and is the newest member of the Peak Performance Team starting in office May, 2018. She competed collegiality in volleyball and coaches club volleyball teams.
You can learn more about our mental coaching programs for volleyball players here.