I have heard many athletes and parents over the years tell me that their son’s or daughter’s coach “stole their confidence”. Even my son, who was a high-level ice hockey goalie would share how his coaches were causing him to play scared, anxious, and afraid to make a mistake. I even had a college head coach tell me one time that his job was not to instill confidence in his players but that they needed to find their confidence some other way. As a transformational coach, I absolutely disagreed with this coach and others who feel like they should not be building up and instilling confidence. However, most coaches do not know how to instill confidence even if they wanted to. We must be ready to share with our athletes where their true confidence should come from. We read in James 1:17 that “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, who does not change like shifting shadows."Below are 5 simple truths that we can use to uplift our athletes and teach them where to find their true confidence.
The Lord–- Where does your help, your strength and your blessings come from? The Psalmist tells us in Psalm 121: 1, “That our help comes from the Lord”. As athletes, we should look to the Creator who created us to provide us our confidence. As Proverbs tells us, “The Lord is our confidence” let’s trust in Him with all of our heart, all of our strength and all of our soul.
My DNA-– “I praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made” Psalm 139:14. The Lord made each of us not only in His image but with specific DNA unique to oneself. Trust that He, the Creator of the universe, created you with passions and talents that you can use to bring Him glory.
My preparation–- Athletes today prepare for competition more than any other athletes in the history of the world. For many, “training” is their full-time job and they work at it for hours and hours every day. Finding confidence in our preparation time, in the sweat and anguish that pours out of our body is something that a coach should not be able to take from us. Trust in your preparation and find confidence in your training knowing you have prepared with your best efforts for days and weeks in advance. See 1 Corinthians 15:10
My Past–- We can, and we should, receive confidence from our past successes and our past failures. God has a plan for each one of us (Jeremiah 29:11) and He uses “We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God, who are called according to His purpose.” Romans 8:28. Remembering the past success He has lead me to, as well as the past failures He has allowed, helps me find confidence knowing that He is with me in all circumstances.
My supporters–- Lastly, the Lord directs people into our lives to support and encourage us during our trails and tribulations. These supporters should be able to build and fill us up with truths that ultimately build confidence in our hearts and minds.
Have you ever struggled with finding your confidence and how has this hurt you in the past?
Where have you traditionally received your confidence from?
Do you think that looking to the Lord to provide your confidence will help you during the tough times that you face?
Lord, thank You for being the Creator and Designer of confidence and for instilling it into each one of us who follows You daily. Help us to look to You for our true confidence and not to others who often look to take it from us. Amen.