How to Build Confidence in Female Athletes

Girls have a place in flag football—and they’re here to stay.

In fact, more and more female athletes are playing flag football than ever before, and flag football recently became a sanctioned women’s college sport.

That’s why at NFL FLAG, we launched the Female in Flag initiative, a movement dedicated to creating more opportunities for girls to participate in flag football. And as their coach, you can support them, too.

How, you ask? Help them build an unshakeable self-confidence. Here are three ways to boost confidence levels among your female athletes.

Reward efforts, not results

When a player’s feelings of confidence are based on results or external rewards, this is called “shaky confidence,” says Graham Betchart, director of mental training for Lucid Performance Inc., in an interview with Positive Coach Alliance.

Instead, you want to empower your players to believe in their actual ability, so that their self-esteem won’t diminish during negative experiences. One way to do this? Reward their efforts, not just their results. This means recognizing moments when they gave it their all, not just when they score or have a great play.

Don’t compare them to other players

Girls already live in a world where they compare themselves to their peers—they don’t need their coach doing it, too. When your player makes a mistake, help them acknowledge the courage it took to get out of their comfort zone. And then provide feedback—without comparing them to another athlete—on what they can do next time. The goal here is to teach them that making mistakes is connected to personal growth.

Additionally, if you give out awards at the end of the season, it’s best to skip the traditional “most talented” or “most improved” titles that could lead to unnecessary competitions. Get creative and think of specific awards for your players that are personalized.

Create an inclusive environment

No matter the age division you’re coaching, it’s important to foster an inclusive social environment for all of your female athletes. One challenge you might face as your players get older is cliques—and we all know how hard cliques can be to navigate.

There are a couple ways you can cultivate a welcoming atmosphere. First, you can plan ahead to make sure you’re always mixing up partners during drills so that players are socializing with new teammates. Another idea is to offer opportunities where your athletes can express themselves freely. For example, you can run a couple of fun drills and act as a fly on the wall during them. That way, it feels less like practice and more like a social situation where every girl is included.