Confidence Building

I have a player who has been with me for a very long time.  He has been with me since he was in kindergarten and I have seen this boy turn into a pretty good ball player throughout the years.  Each year he has added another piece to his game including this year when he added a left hand finish to his arsenal.  This boy wants to be a good player.  He works hard and never complains.  He's getting to the point where his skill level is really good.  I would say it is above average for a kid his age.  The issue is that he doesn't dominate games like he should and he is starting to realize it.  He recently came up to me and told me that he doesn't think he could compete with some of the better players he faces in our league.  This crushed me because I saw that he was broken and discouraged which could lead to a confidence breaking slide.  I quickly reminded him about all of the progress he has made and encouraged him to keep working.  The question is how do I get this player to believe in himself?  How do I make him believe that he can become the player that I see in him?  How do I give this boy the confidence to believe in himself?  

I think there are 6 things that I will need to push on this player in order to get him believing in himself.  They are as follows:

1. Practice - You hear from the pros about when the game is on the line they never think about things they just let the many hours the have spent in the gym practicing take over.  The more you practice a given skill the more that skill will become second nature or instinctive.  Practice really does make perfect.  
2. Practice at game speed - many players will spend hours at the gym practicing only to find out they they still aren't ready for the speed of the game.  You hear from many players who come from college to the pros who say the speed of the game is so much faster at this level.  Such is the case with every level that a player goes up.  It's not until the game slows down that the player starts feeling comfortable at the higher level.  The best way for the player to slow things down is to practice at game speed.  Any move you are practicing make sure you practice it as fast as possible.  I like to tell my players at practice "if your not screwing up here then your not practicing fast enough."  This is the mentality needed to succeed.  Practice fast and you will play fast.  Practice slow and you stand no chance as you increase the level of play you face.
3. Practice smart - You need to be brutally honest with yourself and properly evaluate every weakness in your game.  If your missing layups in games don't just practice basic layups from the same spot over and over again.  Identify the path and the approach you have been confronted with in a game and practice them until you get them right.  Do waste your time doing things that you are already good at.  Keep adding to your game by making weaknesses strengths.
4. Positive Visualization - The best players always have confidence in themselves.  You see them always willing to take the last shot of the game and to have the confidence they will make it even if they have had a bad shooting game.  This is because most of the best players never get caught up in the moment.  They never run away from the opportunity to succeed because in their mind they have visualized themselves doing this many times before.  The thought of missing a shot never crosses their mind.  I always like to tell my players that whether they are having a great game or a poor one they should always have the mentality that the next shot they take is going in.  Visualize success when you practice, when you play, when you sleep, when you listen to music, or when you relax.  Make it a daily habit.  Put yourself in tough situations like in a game where you have played poorly but your team is counting on you to make the last shot in the oppositions place.  Picture yourself sitting in the huddle as your coach draws up the play, see yourself going back into the game with everyone in the stands heckling you, visualize yourself standing tall through all of this noise and when the ball is inbounded watch yourself lose yourself in the moment all the way up to the point where the ball leaves your hands and heads to the basket pure as gold.  Game over!!!
5. Challenge accepted - At the end of the day the difference between the best and the average is the level of competitiveness.  The best embrace every challenge that they come across.  They don't fear the challenge they attack it.  This is the toughest of the 5 goals to teach.  Much of this dynamic is character based.  Players either have it or they don't.  That's not to say that a player can't change their character.  What I like to do is ask my players how bad they want to be good players.  Most of them will say they want to be good players really bad.  I then ask them if they have the desire to practice while teammates are playing video games?  To train while others are sleeping? To say no to your friends when they are hanging out?  Only if they embrace the sacrifices they need to make are they truly willing to accept the challenge.  At the end of the day, saying that you will accept the challenge is not what makes you great, it's the ability to embrace the challenge and to focus on overcoming it that make the best the best.
6. Positive Feedback - People of all ages seek approval.  This phenomenon is magnified in kids.  Tell a kid that they are taking the right steps and confidence soars.  This is especially true when it comes from his coach.  If you're doing your job as a coach, your kids will look up to you and eat up the words of encouragement that are coming out of your mouth.  I always like to think that the only thing I can't tolerate from my kids is lack of effort.  If the effort is not there then I let them know about it, but if the effort is there, even if they are not doing great in the drill a word of encouragement will keep them coming back to that drill over and over again.  Encourage your kids.
   

These are some of the points I will be emphasizing with my troubled baller.  I hope they help him and help everyone who reads this post.