By: Chad Wilson – All Eyes DB Camp
IG: @alleyesdbcamp
The huddle breaks, your assignment jogs out of the pack high up on his toes looking menacing. The crowd is buzzing in anticipation of any and every bold moment that will unfold. Perhaps there is a national television audience watching with similar anticipation as you come face to face with the guy you’ve been watching on film all week. What’s the biggest weapon you have when that ball is snapped?
I’m often asked for that “one tip” by an aspiring or young defensive back looking to get an edge. Playing in the secondary with success is a conglomeration of so many things that it’s tough to just boil it all down to one. However, with a gun to my head, if I was going to give one tip, it would be this, “your biggest weapon is confidence”.
When you are confident you move different. Your actions are sure, they are purposeful and therefore quicker. When you are confident you are more smooth, more in control and better prepared when your moment comes. Confidence tends to drive out hesitation which is the death of guys that play in the last line of defense.
When the game is on the line and there’s a play to be made, confidence will not only have you demand that the action come your way but also give you the power to rise to the occasion. Confidence will also ease or even alleviate the pressure of the moment or moments in the game.
Here’s the thing about confidence though. While you can indeed “fake it till you make it” that has an expiration date. Fake it if you must but soon you will have to make it. So how do we get confidence. Some are born with it but for most, it comes from being prepared. So here’s the bad or good news depending on how you want to take it. You build confidence by studying the game, working on your craft and seeking out competitive situations. Few things will make you more nervous than not knowing what is coming. One thing that will make you more nervous than not knowing what is coming is feeling you are not prepared for what you aren’t sure is coming.
During my senior season at the University of Miami, we played the likes of Arizona St., Washington, Florida St. and Nebraska. The only game I was nervous for was Division I-AA Georgia Southern. This was not because it was the first game of my senior year, it was because I knew I did not put in the time to prepare that week. Rest assured, this did not happen again as I made sure that I packed my confidence for the next 11 games via adequate preparation.
So the morale of the story is, lift your weights, run your sprints, do your drills, study your film and you’ll walk into every competitive situation armed with that one big weapon that no defensive back can do without. CONFIDENCE.
Chad Wilson is the owner of All Eyes DB Camp and author of "101 DB Tips". He played college football at the University of Miami and briefly in the NFL for the Seattle Seahawks. Over his 15 year high school football coaching career, he tutored over a dozen Division I defensive backs and as a trainer has worked with NFL All Pros, first round draft picks, college football All Americans and Top 10 ranked high school football prospects.
