In this article, I want to walk you through a case study of an athlete that I helped go from playing with a lot of self-doubt to playing with confidence.
I’m going to explain what was causing his self-doubt, and then I’m going to walk you through the game plan that we used to get him to develop more confidence in himself that has led to better performances.
Where This Player Started
The athlete I’m referring to in this case study is a high school quarterback in his senior year. Last season, he didn’t start and was beaten out by a player a year younger than him. The reason his coaches gave him as to why he didn’t start was his mindset.
They said he needed to develop confidence. That’s why his parents reached out to me.
So, what we did first in the beginning of the program was identify why he was not believing in himself and where this self-doubt was coming from.
What Caused His Low Confidence?
There were a few key reasons why he was struggling with confidence:
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Negative Thinking: He was experiencing a lot of negative thoughts about himself, especially going into practices, during practices, and after he made mistakes.
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Comparison: He was constantly comparing himself to the other quarterback, to quarterbacks from other teams, and even to quarterbacks he wanted to be like. This led to questioning how good he was and doubting himself.
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Criticizing Mistakes: He was beating himself up after mistakes, both in practice and in games. This lowered his confidence going into the next play or drill.
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Perfectionism: He placed tremendous outcome expectations on himself, thinking he couldn’t make any mistakes if he wanted to earn the starting spot. This perfectionism led to tight play and poor responses to mistakes.
All of this combined to create self-doubt, poor body language, and a lack of confidence.
Our Game Plan
To help him, we created a mental coaching game plan.
1. Cognitive Restructuring
We began with cognitive restructuring.
This technique identifies negative thought-patterns and reframes them into positive ones.
Part of my philosophy is helping athletes understand the connection between how they think, how they feel, and how they play.
Negative thinking leads to self-doubt, low confidence, and anxiety. Positive thought-patterns lead to belief, lower anxiety, and better performances.
To do this, we created a self-talk routine where he rewrote negative thoughts into positive statements and reviewed them every day. Through repetition, he began to rewire his natural thought patterns.
But we didn’t stop there. He also worked on reframing in the moment—catching negative thoughts during practices or games and replacing them with more empowering ones.
For example, changing “I’ll never be as good as that other quarterback” to “I know I’m a great player. Focus on my strengths and stay present.”
2. Resetting High Expectations
Next, we reset his high expectations. His perfectionism and outcome goals were fueling his anxiety. Together, we reframed those outcome expectations into controllable mini goals.
We also identified one to two simple controllable targets for him to focus on during plays.
For him, that meant going through his progressions before the snap and then focusing on being fully present. These controllables gave him clear, attainable objectives that simplified the game and reduced overthinking.
3. Post-Practice Evaluation
We implemented a post-practice routine, which he now uses post-game as well.
Instead of overanalyzing mistakes and criticizing himself, he reflects on what he did well and reframes mistakes as learning opportunities.
Over time, this shifted his view of mistakes from negatives to valuable lessons. It reduced stress around errors while simultaneously building confidence by reinforcing positives.
4. Mindfulness
We also worked on mindfulness to create a calmer mind. I believe a calm mind is a confident mind.
For him, overthinking mistakes, plays, and what coaches thought, kept his mind racing.
By using mindfulness meditation throughout the week, and practicing mindfulness in the moment, he learned to stay present before, during, and after plays. This helped him feel more settled, composed, and ultimately confident.
5. Resetting Tools in the Moment
Finally, we gave him resetting tools to use when mistakes happened.
His reset involved a simple thought-stopping phrase and mindfulness breathing, followed by refocusing on his controllable targets for the next play or drive.
This helped him maintain confidence throughout games, instead of letting mistakes drag him down.
The Results of Mental Coaching
This quarterback is now playing the majority of the game. At the start of the season, he was splitting time with the other quarterback, but he’s now the starter and playing really well.
The difference?
He worked to change his mindset. His coaches always told him he had the physical skills. What he was missing was the mindset to succeed. Through mental training, he’s developed that mindset and continues to grow stronger in it.
Final Thoughts
I wanted to share this case study so you can take some ideas for yourself if you’re struggling with confidence.
If you’re currently dealing with self-doubt or any other mental game challenge that’s keeping you from performing your best, click here to learn more about my one-on-one 12-week mental performance coaching program.
Thank you for reading, and I wish you the best of success in all that you do!
