How to Instill Self Belief and Self Confidence in a Young Rugby Player

Rugby Psychology Tips: How to Instill Self Belief and Self Confidence in a Young Rugby Player

Having self-belief in your ability to play rugby can make a huge difference

One of the biggest difficulties for parents is how to instill self belief and self confidence in young rugby players. As a child it’s very difficult to control your thoughts and emotions because your brain is still developing. This means, as a child, it is easy to knock yourself down for the smallest of mistakes during a rugby match and difficult to pick yourself up. The good news is there are ways that as a parent you can help your child feel better about themselves and their rugby. Help them understand what a confident rugby player looks like. Firstly, your role is to work with them and encourage them to figure out what a confident mindset is. This is hugely important, playing with confidence will help your child make better decisions in games. It will also help them make the most of competitive opportunities. You may have noticed during a game of rugby, a child looking towards their parents for help. It is very difficult for a parent in this case. However, with a better understanding of what confidence is they’ll be better equipped to think and plan the next steps on the pitch themselves.

Here are three tips to follow in order to help your child feel more confident:

1.Help them set one mini goal in a game that links with playing with confidence and can help them feel a sense of fun and achievement. This practise is likely to also help them build up an element of trust in themselves and will prevent them from constantly overthinking during a game of rugby. An example would be to rate themselves out of 10 for how much fun they had, taking on opponents or passing creatively.

2. Capture some of your child’s best moments during a season of rugby and put these together in a highlight video together. It can be very helpful for a child to see themselves performing well – after all we all are our own worst critics so this could be a very useful exercise to build their self-awareness.

3. Help your child make a list of all their strengths. Together put these into a ‘Confidence CV’. Focus on their strengths on all areas of their rugby game including tactical, technical, psychological and physical elements. In the CV you may also want to list some of their biggest and smallest achievements to date. Then, when your child goes through a period when they lose some confidence, they can refer to their CV.

If your child is not the most confident person following these three steps can go a long way. At the same time, if you know of any other parents who could benefit from reading this article, I’d be more than grateful if you could pass this article on instilling self-belief in young rugby players on.

If you enjoyed this blog offering Rugby Psychology advice I’d be grateful if you could pass it on to other parents or coaches or be sure to sign up to “The Mental Edge” for regular updates and tips.

Or to get in touch for one 2 one Sports Psychology Coaching with a Leading Sport Psychologist, David Charlton, based near Sunderland click here – Face to face, via the telephone, SKYPE or online via email.

Best Wishes

David Charlton

Rugby Mental Performance Coach and Sports Psychologist to many Rugby Players around the world from UK and Ireland, to South Africa, Australia and New Zealand using ONLINE Video Conferencing (Zoom, Skype, Facetime, Whatsapp).

Managing Director – Inspiring Sporting Excellence, Host of Demystifying Mental Toughness Podcast, and Founder of The Sports Psychology Hub. With over a decades’ experience supporting athletes, coaches, parents and teams to achieve their goals, faster.

T: +44 7734 697769

E: [email protected]