I am a Certified Mental Performance Consultant® with a Master’s Degree in Sport Psychology. My mission is to help athletes ages 14 to 22 be themselves when everyone is watching. Learn more about me.
“You’re either in a slump… or about to be in one.”
Someone said that to me recently, and even after all my years playing and coaching baseball, I’d never heard it. But I love it. It’s the essence of the game.
And it’s often when families reach out to me — when a young athlete doesn’t know how to get out of a slump.
On one hand, this is a favorable time to begin working with an athlete. They’re ready to change. On the other, they’re chasing results — and that mindset is often what got them stuck in the first place. Getting out of a slump often starts with a shift in perspective, and rebuilding confidence for young athletes takes creativity and finesse.
That brings me to Danny.
Meet Danny: A Talented Player Losing His Confidence
A few weeks ago, Danny’s mom contacted me. He’d been struggling at the plate throughout most of his junior season in high school.
Danny plays for a baseball powerhouse — one of the best programs in our area. They win titles. They produce college-level talent. Danny has those same dreams. But right now, he’s uncommitted, and he’s feeling the weight.
He’s not producing. He’s worried he’s hurting his chances to play in college. He’s lost some belief in himself.
My job? Help him get out of his hitting slump and get back on the college recruiting radar. No big deal. (Sarcasm alert: it’s a very big deal.)
Session One: Reclaiming Control
In our first session, we focused on process-oriented solutions. Danny was tense. Overthinking. Trying too hard.
I introduced breathing techniques and reset cues. We talked about staying in the moment — controlling the controllables. Starting with the process can reduce the emotional weight of results, and it also helps athletes regain a sense of control, which is often the first step toward rebuilding confidence for young athletes.
After the session, Danny said things felt a little better… but not quite there yet. That wasn’t surprising. He’d spent the first month and a half of the season hyper-focused on outcomes, results, and stats. It takes time to shift that mindset.
So we tried something different.
Session Two: Reclaiming Swagger
Session Two: Rebuilding Confidence for Young Athletes Through Memory
Danny told me he’d lost his swagger. I asked him to think of a time when he had it.
He told me about a game last summer — travel ball, bases loaded, game on the line — and he ripped a triple into the right-center gap. He remembered how he felt that day: loose, confident, free, having fun. He was that guy.
And then I had a lightbulb moment.
“You’re still that guy. You just don’t feel like him right now.”
I reminded him: he’s in the starting lineup on a top-tier team for a reason. He didn’t forget how to play baseball.
He leaned in. I could see the shift. We had tapped into something powerful: memory, emotion, identity — the real building blocks of confidence for young athletes.
Why Past Success Is the Real Source of Confidence for Young Athletes
One of the biggest patterns I see in athletes: they let their most recent performance determine their confidence. But they rarely go back and reflect on the past successes that got them here.
Here’s the truth: past successes are the biggest source of confidence for young athletes. And they don’t have to be from yesterday, or even last week. They just need to be remembered.
Danny felt it. He smiled. His posture changed. I gave him a challenge: recall that great moment, live in it for 24 hours, and feel like that guy again.
His game got rained out the next day, but two days later he played. I checked the box score the following day: 2-for-2, with a run and an RBI.
I texted his mom. Her response said it all — visible relief and pride in what he’d done.
Keeping the Momentum Going
Now, the mission is to help Danny stay in that headspace. How? By helping him consistently remember who he is. Build a new mental routine. And practice it, daily.
Because that guy? He never left. He just needed to be reminded — and that’s often the whole game when it comes to confidence for young athletes.
FAQ
What is the biggest source of confidence for young athletes? Past success is the biggest source of confidence for young athletes — not their most recent game or their current stats. Reconnecting with a specific memory of performing well can rebuild confidence faster than technical adjustments alone.
How can a young athlete break out of a slump? Breaking out of a slump often starts with a shift in perspective rather than a change in mechanics. Process-oriented techniques like breathing and reset cues help, but reconnecting with a strong past memory is often what restores confidence for young athletes most effectively.
Why do young athletes lose confidence after a few bad performances? Many young athletes let their most recent performance define how they feel about themselves, rather than looking back at the full body of past successes that got them to where they are. This is one of the most common blockers to confidence for young athletes.
Can working with a mental performance coach help rebuild confidence? Yes. A mental performance coach can help a young athlete identify process-oriented tools, reconnect with past successes, and build the mental routines that sustain confidence for young athletes over the long term — not just after one good game.
Does your athlete need a mental performance coach?
If you think your athlete might benefit from having a trusted “third voice” at their table and want to learn more about Mike’s work, schedule a 30-minute consultation now.