I get asked this all of the time: โHow do I increase my daughter/sonโs confidence in the game?โ. Confidence in sports, specifically, is pretty tricky because it encompasses so many different aspects of a playerโs development.
Practice Makes Perfect
On the skill side, competence = confidence. The more you practice something, the more your competency grows, and the more confident you feel on the field. Pretty simple right? Well, thatโs just one side of the equation. Why do we see a lot of high-level College or Professional athletes coming back from an injury a completely different player? They have practiced their skills a trillion times in their life, but now they are โin their headโ. Which brings us to the other side of the equation of confidence: the mental game.
The Mental Game
Ever hear that little voice in your head saying โCatch the ball, catch the ball!!โ. And then you realize thatโs all youโre thinking about – not the defender closing in on you or your next look. You canโt focus on the actual game. Maybe that little voice is coming from a coach who threatens โif you donโt catch the ball youโre coming out of the gameโ or maybe your mom or dad promised ice cream if you โjust catch the darn ballโ. The mental game has to be nurtured for confidence in sports just as much as your skills need practice. For some cases, I recommend a Sports Psychologistโฆ but there is another way to increase your playerโs confidence in both their skills and their mentality.
How Overnight Lacrosse Camp Helps Increase Confidence
Lacrosse Camp. Specifically, Overnight Lacrosse Camp. In an overnight sports camp setting, players are taken out of their element, which is often a team that they know, coaches that they know, and their parents on the sideline. They are placed in an unfamiliar, yet supportive environment.
Opportunity for Independence
At camp, youโre away from everything within your gameโs comfort zone. Now youโre passing to players who youโve only known for a few days. Youโre away from the supportโฆ and the pressureโฆ of your parents. And most importantly, youโre responsible for getting the most out of your experience on the field. You donโt have to worry about your club coach seeing you drop the ball and worry about the effects on your playing time that might have. Youโre not worried about how your future high school coach just walked on the field. Your first opportunity for independence in your sport is at an overnight camp.
Different Coaches
Each coach is really good at one thing. Whether that’s teaching footwork, or executing an 8-meter shot, or the face-off. Each coach knows what their role was as a player and that is their secret sauce as a coach. I always encourage my players to take away that one thing about each coach that they play under. And the more coaches you have, the more skills you walk away with. I think itโs absolutely detrimental to see players under one coach their whole life. Iโm sure that the coach is an amazing coach, but I guarantee that coach wonโt be following you to your College program. Different coaches advance playersโ skills, communication, and coachability.
Leadership
Overnight lacrosse camp is a fast track to understanding how to be a teammate. Like I said, this is the first time youโre meeting the players youโre grouped with on the field. And within a few sessions, youโre working together and communicating on the field. This environment allows players to embody the player they want to be, and drop the player that they may be on their club or high school teams. Maybe the player always wanted to be a leader on the team but felt timid because there were already captains in place, etc. At camp, a player can recreate their image in the sport for a week, which translates to their leadership on their home teams.
All in all, overnight lacrosse camp develops technical skills, independence, and leadership skills within each player, in a comfortable and supportive environment. This is the recipe to increase your confidence in the sport.
– Director of Palms Lacrosse Club (Florida)
Ready to Start Increasing Confidence in Your Sport?
You donโt want to miss the next opportunity to live out the Signature Sports Camps experience first-hand! Browse our locations to learn more about what makes each camp unique, and discover how we can help athletes build confidence through our summer programs. Register now to have a summer to remember!
