How To Build Confidence Early
Some young athletes seem to ooze confidence. They appear unfazed during championship games, in the final minutes of a contest or when trailing late in a game.
Why do these athletes possess unwavering confidence? Is there something in their DNA that generates confidence?
Confidence is not genetic. If kids believe confidence is primarily genetic, they may dismiss the notion that they can build high-level confidence.
Not only is that misperception a mistake, but it is also detrimental to kids’ performance and potential. Confidence isn’t something they’re born with, nor is it an exclusive trait of elite athletes.
Instead, confidence is a skill that can be developed by anyone willing to put in the work. Confidence is a mental skill requiring effort, focus and dedication.
If young athletes want game-changing confidence, they need to commit to training their mind, putting in the necessary work and holding themselves accountable for developing their confidence.
At the 2025 Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, Arizona State quarterback Sam Leavitt was oozing confidence. Leavitt had already established himself as one of the top young quarterbacks in the country.
In his previous six games, Leavitt threw for 16 touchdowns and just one interception. Leavitt believes he is one of the best collegiate quarterbacks and was looking forward to facing Texas to prove himself on the field.
“It’s just an opportunity for me to go prove myself,” he said. “I hope that every player on the field feels that they’re the best. That’s how it should be. You put all this work in and get to this stage. So why would you not believe that yourself?”
Leavitt wasn’t born with high confidence; he put in the work, and his work paid dividends. Confidence is a commitment. Confidence is built on action. The more sports kids work on confidence, the more it develops.
Every day, if sports kids work on a confidence-building strategy, it shows up in their competitive performance.
Imagine how confident young athletes would be if they:
- Strived for excellence.
- Committed to maximizing their potential.
- Looked for different ways to build their talent.
- Improved the weaker areas of their game.
- Prioritized mental skills training.
- Broke through personal barriers.
- Broadened their technical skill set.
- Pushed themselves to higher levels.
- Took ownership of their practice and competitive performances.
Confidence is not reserved for the elite. Confidence is a mental skill developed by athletes who have the drive to achieve greatness.
Confidence empowers kids to challenge themselves, learn from setbacks and consistently push beyond their perceived limits. And when they commit to developing confidence, it’s game-changing.
Confidence is a process built step by step, not overnight. Identifying steps and strategies is crucial for building confidence.
Kids should set confidence goals, create goal plans, implement strategies and evaluate their progress to stay on the path to game-changing confidence.
Related Kids Sports Psychology Articles:
- How Self-Talk Boosts Athletes’ Confidence
- Comparison’s Impact on Athletes Confidence
- Help Young Athletes Build Trust and Confidence
*Subscribe to The Sports Psychology Podcast on iTunes
*Subscribe to The Sports Psychology Podcast on Spotify
THE CONFIDENT SPORTS KID (DIGITAL DOWNLOAD)
“The Confident Sports Kid” program is actually two programs: one that teaches sports parents how to boost their kids’ confidence, and another that teaches young athletes age 8 to 18 how to improve their self talk, avoid negative thinking, overcome expectations that limit confidence, and much more. The program will help kids boost their confidence in sports and life…and enjoy sports more.
The Confident Sports Kid Audio & Workbook program teaches your athletes how to identify confidence busters, proactively deal with them, manage expectations that undermine confidence.
“I just wanted to say thank you for your wonderful programs. My son Kai was one of the fastest 10 and under swimmers in Southern California and after he “aged up” to the 11-12 group he really lost confidence swimming against the much faster and bigger boys. He started with the Confident Sports Kids series and really enjoyed each and every lesson. He then started the Composed Kid series and built on the important building blocks that he was using from the first series. I so happy to report that Kai was able to swim to best times in each and every event he swam at the biggest and most important meet of the year in So Cal, the Club Championships. Each race he was more calm, composed, and relaxed. The final race was one that he was ranked last and one of his goals was to try for top 16…he was 49th! He cut over 4 seconds off his time ending up in 17th. He was ecstatic to say the least.”
~DD Bartley