The This sounds strange.
Surely telling a child they're talented should make them more confident?
Not necessarily.
One of the pieces of research I discuss in my Maximum Confidence guide comes from psychologist Carol Dweck and her work around growth mindset.
Children were given problems to solve.
Afterwards, some were praised for their intelligence:
“You must be really smart.”
Others were praised for their effort:
“You must have worked really hard.”
What happened next is important.
The children praised for effort were more willing to choose challenging tasks, persisted for longer when things became difficult and showed greater resilience.
Children praised for intelligence were more likely to avoid difficult challenges and experienced bigger drops in motivation when things became difficult.
Think about this in football
Imagine constantly telling your child:
“You're naturally talented.”
What happens when they meet someone better?
What happens when they're released?
What happens when suddenly something isn't easy?
Being the talented player has become part of their identity.
So failure becomes threatening.
Compare that with:
“I loved how you kept trying that even when it wasn't working.”
“You've really improved that because you've worked on it.”
Now we're reinforcing a completely different message:
I can improve.
That's one of the most important beliefs I want young footballers to develop.
Talent is great.
But football will eventually become difficult for every player.
We need children who don't interpret difficulty as:
“Maybe I'm not good enough.”
But instead:
“What do I need to learn next?”