King shared five key points about confidence in youth hockey – it’s importance, where it comes from, how to get it back if you lose it and how parents and coaches can help nurture it.

Want to be more confident? Put in the work – “How you develop trust and faith in yourself is something that most people look outside themselves for, but really, it comes from within your own control. Gabbie (Hughes) would try moves over and over and over again and no matter how many times she failed she would continue to work on the move until she perfected it. She was confident in her abilities because she knew she put in the work to succeed. I think it's important for all players to know that you don't just wake up and become great. It takes a lot of behind the scenes work and putting in that extra time can do wonders for your game on the ice and your overall demeanor as a person off the ice.”

Honest feedback from coaches helps players grow – “I think players need feedback – the good, the bad and the ugly. It’s important you’re honest with your players. Young players need to know that you’re coming from a place of care and trying to help. Tone of voice is important. With my high school and collegiate players, watching film is a large part of growing as a player. You see yourself do some good things and it helps build confidence and you see some things that you can make an area of focus so you can practice those things and gain confidence to try it again.”

Don’t let failure define you – “A lot of people in general let failure define them. It's important for kids to learn early on that it's OK to fail, it's OK to make mistakes, you're going to make mistakes every single day in hockey, in school and in life. You can’t let that mistake dictate what happens next, but rather you should dictate what happens next and don't let the domino effect take place. You're not defined by the moments in which you fall short, but the moments following in how you react to yourself in those moments.”

A little positivity goes a long way – “How you talk to yourself shapes your self-esteem and you need to have enough respect and grace for yourself to realize that it's OK to make mistakes. You can't get down on yourself. It's inevitable that you're going to make mistakes, it's all about how you bounce back. I love the quote ‘Life is 10% of what happens to you and 90% how you react to it.’ If you focus on the things that you can control such as your attitude and effort every day, you will be surprised at how much your life can change for the better and things will start shaping up.”

A few more tips to help confidence take off:

• Take the pressure off them if they're squeezing the stick too tight or if your goalie's fighting the puck.
• Celebrating small victories, progress and improvements gives them something to build.
• If you put in the work, you should have all the confidence in the world. 
• Confidence is built day in and day out and the more you push yourself out of your comfort zone, the more confident you become in doing the little things.
• Setting small tangible goals and seeing the improvement you can make is fun and a confidence builder as well.