How Volleyball Players Can Control Confidence

Self-Confidence in Volleyball

Do You Have Stable Self-Confidence in Volleyball?

Confidence can be an elusive skill for a lot of athletes.

It is one of the most important mental game components, and also one of the hardest to gain and maintain.

Confidence can also impact other mental skills.

For example, when confidence is fragile, it’s likely that you’ll be distracted easily and struggle to focus in the present.

For many volleyball players, confidence depends on their immediate play.

You may go into a match feeling pretty confident, but after a couple mistakes, your confidence tanks and it becomes hard for you to play through the rest of the match.

Or, maybe your coach or a teammate reprimands you for something and that smacks down your confidence.

You might also watch a team during warm-ups and wonder how you could possibly compete with them. It’s likely that changes the level of your confidence as well.

As a volleyball player, instead of having fragile confidence, a confidence that is easily influenced by other factors (mistakes, coaches, teammates, parents, etc.), you want to have a proactive, stable self-confidence.

Notice I said “SELF”- confidence…

Confidence starts and finishes with you, “the self.”

You don’t want anything else to influence your belief in your ability to perform.

To begin to develop proactive, stable self-confidence, you want take note of your strengths as a player and any recent accomplishments you’ve had while playing volleyball.

Write down your talents and abilities–and review them before competition. This simple task will allow you to begin developing a steady self-confidence.

Additionally, note some proactive self-confidence statements, or positive self-talk to use during a match.

After an error, rather than saying to yourself, “You stink, don’t set me the ball,” say something like, “You’re a great hitter, trust your skills.”

This will support the belief in your abilities as a volleyball player and help you continue to play through with self-confidence instead of frustration.

Having a stable self-confidence as a volleyball player can be extremely difficult.

Remind yourself how many years you have trained and competed before you step on the court and know your skills do not go away overnight or after a couple mistakes.

Let us know your challenges with the mental game of volley by taking two minutes to complete 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.

2 thoughts on “How Volleyball Players Can Control Confidence”

  1. Sometimes I feel as if I don’t want to keep playing club volleyball and as a person who truly LOVES volleyball I have never ever met a team and coach who puts me down when I make a mistake rather than get me back up and help me improve. Every time I make a mistake my coach tends to take me out of the game and let the other girls play and I always break down crying feeling that I will never get better and I don’t know what to do anymore.

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