There is a big difference between playing with confidence and being a cocky player in softball. It’s 
essential that coaches instill confidence in the players on their team. When coaches believe in their players, slowly but surely the players will respond and even begin to believe in themselves. No matter how many times a parent, teammate, or coach tell a player how great they are, it doesn’t register unless the player believes it.
The game of softball is full of failure. No matter what position you find yourself at on the field, mistakes are guaranteed to be made, spots are going to be missed resulting in hits given up, base runners will be thrown out, signs will be missed, strikeouts will happen, and in every single game played, there will be a team who comes out on the losing end. Achieving a perfect game every single time your team steps on the field is impossible. There are too many working parts, and this is a very unrealistic expectation. It’s important that players learn how to cope with their game day emotions as well as learn to deal with failure.
What does playing with confidence look like? Confident softball players are the ones who work hard in silence and let their success be their noise. They are the players who stay after practice on their own to take some extra reps. They are often the players who lead by example on the field and who are a vocal leader to the team. Confident players only worry about themselves because they know that is the only thing they can control. To get more information about our team building, leadership, and mental toughness programs please visit www.opawinningteams.com.
