Confidence on the field

[Laxordie24]

I've come to the conclusion that I don't have much confidence on the lax field; therefore, I'm trying to figure out how to gain confidence. I know that I'm a decent player, I can catch, pass, and shoot, play with both hands, etc. and I start most games as a sophmore on my schools Varsity team; but I know there's something missing. I've got a good friend on the team that plays the same position as I do and she scores more, drives more, and generally gets passed to more, but I have just as much or more stick skills and knowledge of the game as her. After I score a couple of goals then my game level goes up and I play as I would like to, but I usually have mediocre games. I've also noticed that if we play the teams that are ranked 1st or 2nd in the state, then they sike me out. I realized I can't go into a game with an attitude like that, but I don't know how to change it.?

I tend to be a perfectionist and set very high standards for myself, and I'm thinking this could aid to the confidence problem. If I miss a pass I've noticed that I back away from the ball more and don't cut open for passes.
Also, I generally play 1st or 2nd home, or back-up center, so my goal most of the time is to score.
I guess my question is, how do I help resolve this problem?

edit: I know theres a thread like this in the High School forum, where most of the replies have been listen to music, but I already do that, and it doesn't seem to work.

[laxgoalie07]

dont be afraid of failure if you miss a pass oh well get the next one

im a goalie so i know i use to be scared of letting in goals but you cant let something small affect your game just forget the last pass and get the next one theres always room for improvement

and dont be afraid you miss 100% of the shots you dont take!

[laxfolife24]

You make it sound like you play scared. From what I read it made it seem like you were surprised you scored the goal, but once you knew you could do it you had a great game. Try visualizing yourself before a game playing great because when it comes time for the game all of those thoughts serve as a positive reinforcement. You said that you are a good player. My coaches have always said the difference betweena good player and a great player is their ability to be strong mentality. I think that is what you need. Don't think so much. If you love the game then play it, stop worrying about missing a pass and letting your team down. Other girls miss passes right? Your teams best player has missed a pass? Did she move on? There is no reason you shouldn't be able to put that behind you and keep playing your game. Be agressive, go for the goal. What's the worst thing that is going to happen, you miss the shot but then maybe your team intercepts the goalies clear. Your agressive play will lead to more opportunities for your team.

Another way to gain confidence is to play in a lot of leagues during the offseason, go to camps and challenge yourself. If you are the good player that you say you are then you should hold up aainst your competition, and WHEN that happens you wil be more confident in yourself.

[CTLaxer]

There's a few things I'll mention, they're good things to keep in mind at all times and will probably help you with your specific problem too.

Aggressive....go out there and kick some butt! Easier said than done though right? Think about it like this, when you're aggressive and go after the ball and take it to goal and come out and play aggressive defense, the other team is reacting to how you're playing. That means that you're in control of the situation and dictating what happens. When you're not aggressive, you're being 'reactive' instead of 'proactive'. Another way to think about it is if you're not being aggressive, you're being submissive...basically letting the other team do whatever they want with you.

One step at a time. Break down the steps of the game into single steps and focus on one at a time. Examples being "pick up the ground ball on the draw" then "make a good dodge to beat my man" then "shoot high off stick side". This allows you to focus on what needs to be done rather than worry about what's gonna happen. This prevents you from thinking "if i don't get the ground ball on the draw, they're gonna score again" which creates negative thoughts and tendancies.

Worry about yourself, not the other team. There is only one thing you can control in any game you play against any opponent. That one thing is the way you perform and how you perform. Only you can decide to go 120% for the entire 50mins. Only you can decide to be aggressive. Only you can decide if you're gonna get those 5 ground balls or not. Worrying about the other team is useless and leads to negative thoughts and lack of confidence. If you think about the team you're playing as the #2 team in the state and you hope to do well against them, you're not going to. If you think "oh, we won't do too bad against them cause we're better this year", you're going to do crappy against them and lose. You can't control how the other team performs. You can't control the weather. You can't control your coach. You can't control the officials. You can't control the annoying parents watching. You CAN control your own performance and play. If you think anything about the other team, except for maybe "man i feel sorry they have to play us today cause we're gonna kick their butt", you've already lost the game.

Visualize....spend time visualizing to yourself what you're going to do and how to do it succesfully. In your head picture yourself receiving a feed on the run, dodging around your defender and shooting and scoring. If you dropped a pass a minute ago, take a second and visualize what you did wrong and then correct it in your head and visualize yourself doing it correctly the next time around. Visualize yourself doing what it is you want to do, winning, not making mistakes, and you'll find yourself doing the things you visualized.

Lastly, everyone is human. Everyone makes mistakes, it's only natural. You're allowed to make mistakes. What you're not allowed to do is let those mistakes affect how you play after they occur.

[Laxordie24]

Thanks CT, I think that helped. I'll remember the tips for the next game and see how they work for me. I like the "one step at a time" point. I've never heard that before.

I play in all the leagues I can around here and attend camps in the summer as much as possible.

[b-waterlax]

:clap: wow, that was great ctlax, I think i am going to print that whole part about what you shouldnt do in the middle of your post and hang it in my room. Thanks a lot.

[waynelaxgrl101]

also you need to stoke yourself up. strive to impress the coaches, strive to be the best on the team, strive to be better than the seniors on your team. If you have goals that you want to achieve you will be more focused on achieving tham than being scared, or timid. tell yourself that you can be the best, believe it, than do it.

[LaxCrazy17]

I've come to the conclusion that I don't have much confidence on the lax field; therefore, I'm trying to figure out how to gain confidence. I know that I'm a decent player, I can catch, pass, and shoot, play with both hands, etc. and I start most games as a sophmore on my schools Varsity team; but I know there's something missing. I've got a good friend on the team that plays the same position as I do and she scores more, drives more, and generally gets passed to more, but I have just as much or more stick skills and knowledge of the game as her. After I score a couple of goals then my game level goes up and I play as I would like to, but I usually have mediocre games. I've also noticed that if we play the teams that are ranked 1st or 2nd in the state, then they sike me out. I realized I can't go into a game with an attitude like that, but I don't know how to change it.?

I tend to be a perfectionist and set very high standards for myself, and I'm thinking this could aid to the confidence problem. If I miss a pass I've noticed that I back away from the ball more and don't cut open for passes.
Also, I generally play 1st or 2nd home, or back-up center, so my goal most of the time is to score.
I guess my question is, how do I help resolve this problem?

edit: I know theres a thread like this in the High School forum, where most of the replies have been listen to music, but I already do that, and it doesn't seem to work.


I'm just like you, I have a tendency to play mediocre (sp) but I know that I can play better. I have the same problem as you so this could benifit the both of us. I try to get confident about myself, but I can't seem to accomplish that, everyone always tells me that I need more confidence in myself. It's just not that easy.