Usually, a coach saying a player still has their confidence means the coach continues to believe the player can contribute or improve despite a slump, mistake, or difficult stretch. It is a sign of support—not a promise of playing time, a guarantee of success, or proof that the player feels confident.
What the phrase usually means
“Still has their confidence” is informal coaching language, not a defined technical term. A coach may use it to reassure an athlete, answer a question about a slump, or express continued belief in that player. The precise meaning depends on the conversation and the coach’s actions.
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In a coaching account by Thomas J. Barth, coaches are described as sticking by players through slumps and correcting poor play without treating a mistake as a judgment of the athlete’s worth. The examples are qualitative, not evidence that all coaches communicate the same way. Read Barth’s coaching account.
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One free scan finds every outdated or missing driver and matches the right update for your exact hardware.Free scan · exact hardware matchThree kinds of confidence that should not be confused
- The coach’s confidence: the coach’s expressed belief that the player can contribute or get better.
- The player’s confidence: the athlete’s own belief or feeling. A coach’s statement alone cannot tell you what the player feels.
- Sport confidence or self-efficacy: performance-related concepts involving belief in one’s capacity to succeed. A reference excerpt defines sport confidence in those terms, but the coach’s phrase is not shown to be a validated scale or diagnosis. See the Routledge Companion reference.
Does it mean the player will keep playing?
No. A coach can believe in a player and still change their minutes, role, or place in the lineup. The phrase by itself does not establish a selection decision; competition, performance, and team needs can still affect playing time.
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Can a coach have confidence in a struggling player?
Yes. Continued belief can coexist with criticism, demanding feedback, and work still to do. Barth’s account says some athletes respond to direct or louder feedback while others do better with a less confrontational approach. The tone alone does not settle what the coach thinks: consider whether feedback is specific, appropriate to the player, and focused on the action rather than the person.
What support may look like during a slump
In Barth’s reported examples, support includes noticing a player’s emotional state, adapting the way feedback is delivered, discussing poor play privately, and making clear that the coach is correcting an action rather than condemning the athlete. These are clues to a supportive relationship, not a diagnostic checklist.
Confidence does not require feeling certain before acting. In an interview, IMG Academy mental-conditioning coach Lindsay Hamilton describes athletes becoming more willing to act and learn during an exercise, then connecting that experience to sport practice. She sums up an idea she draws from Russ Harris’s The Confidence Gap as: “The actions of confidence comes first, the feelings come later.” That is her description of the idea, not a universal rule. Read the IMG Academy interview.
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Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →A chapter in Handbook of Esports Medicine cautions that prolonged “fake it till you make it” may backfire for some athletes. It instead discusses grounding confidence in controllable effort, attitude, and choices, and connecting practice preparation with competitive conditions. This is handbook guidance, not proof that one method works for every athlete or sport. Read the handbook excerpt.
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How a player can clarify what the coach means
If you are the player, ask about expectations and actions rather than trying to decode one phrase. For example: “What would you like me to focus on in practice?” or “Which decisions or skills do you want to see improve, and how will I know I’m meeting the standard?” The coach’s answer can clarify the route forward, though it cannot guarantee a particular role or outcome.
Confidence can fluctuate without indicating mental weakness or a disorder. If an athlete needs additional support, resources may include teammates, coaches, counseling centers, or mental-performance professionals; ordinary ups and downs in confidence should not automatically be treated as a diagnosis. Read the Seattle Anxiety Specialists interview.
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- Author: W. Timothy Gallwey.
- Publisher: Random House Trade Paperbacks
- Pages: 122
- Publication Date: 1997
- Edition: Revised ed.
What the phrase cannot tell you
- It does not prove the athlete personally feels confident.
- It does not guarantee minutes, a starting role, retention, or a future result.
- It does not mean the coach approves of every performance or that no improvement is needed.
- It does not, by itself, indicate a mental-health condition or the need for treatment.
The available material is qualitative coaching discussion, practitioner interviews, and handbook or reference excerpts. It does not measure how often coaches use this exact sentence or quantify its effect.
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