Before you can win, you have to believe you are worthy.
Mike Ditka—NFL Hall of Fame player and coach

Understanding the power that football confidence plays into actual success on the field is critical for improvement in any player. The mentally tough athlete knows it is not solely body strength and speed in such a physical game as football, but rather the positive tenacity to withstand an opponent who wants to hurt you.

Self-doubt occurs when a player starts to second guess their ability, or a stronger belief in their opponent’s ability rather than their own. Doubting destroys football confidence faster than any player on the field.

One factor of self-doubt correlates to the amount of mental preparation and physical practice an athlete works into their training regimen. If their cardio and strength training is done half-heartedly, then naturally when the pressure of a game situation occurs they will experience self-doubt. You must be ready to sacrifice time, effort and sweat in practice to experience mental toughness and football confidence under game day circumstances.

Just as you need to strengthen your body physically, there must also be mental exercises to increase focus and a positive frame of mind on a constant basis. Mental toughness does not simply appear under the pressure of a game. Mental toughness is an aspect of the game that is refined daily, deliberately analyzed and strengthened through focus exercises and a positive mindset.

Self-doubt is often rooted in fear, either of the opponent, or of failure. Sometimes players are so concerned with “messing up”, that they commit a self-fulfilling prophecy and do exactly what they fear. If a player is concerned with fumbling the football, and all his self-talk is “Don’t drop the ball”, most likely he will continue to struggle with fumbles. In this example the mental focus is negative. “Do not drop the ball” is a negative statement which is a confidence limiting thought. Rather, the positive affirmation to focus is “I will hold on to the ball” or better still “No one will take the ball from me”. Your thoughts and mindset should remain in a positive realm that build and sustain football confidence, not destroy it.

Sports psychology for football also promotes the idea of maintaining a close mentor that assists with the analysis of your football mind. Anyone that brings negativity is not a good choice for one of these mentors. There are coaches who may offer great advice, but might create stress and self-doubt within the athlete’s mind. You should always listen to your coach, but they may not be the best choice as a mentor.

Criticism is not always negative. Just because someone tells you that you need to improve, that doesn’t mean they can’t be a great mentor. It’s all about whether the person is honest with you, and if they instill confidence through a plan to get better. You should feel stronger in their presence, not weaker from their advice. Once you establish someone to this role, then they offer a different perspective to your performance, mental toughness and focus. This added viewpoint allows for a more comprehensive analysis of thought process, mental preparation and performance on the field.

Building football confidence is critical to reaching your peak performance on the field. Eliminating self-doubt and confidence limiting thoughts from your focus automatically improves confidence and overall mental toughness. The mental preparation a player completes provides growth in mental toughness and improved performance on game day.