Water Polo Confidence for Youth Players: Why Missing Shots Is OK (Ages 10–15)

1. The only players who don’t make mistakes are the ones who don’t do anything

Think about this:

• The player who never shoots

• The player who never tries a difficult pass

• The player who never takes a risk

…also never scores, never creates goals, and never really improves.

If you’re scared of missing, you start playing “small”:

• You catch the ball and instantly pass it away

• You ignore good chances because you don’t want to “mess up”

• You hope other people will make the big play

Coaches notice that.

They’d rather have a player who:

• Sometimes misses the cage,

• But is brave enough to shoot when they’re open,
  than a player who is always hiding.

2. Missing is information, not a failure

Every time you miss a shot or make a bad pass, you actually get free information:

• Did I rush it?

• Were my hips too low?

• Did I look at the target?

• Did I read the defender correctly?

You can’t learn that from the bench or from being scared.

If you miss and then ask yourself one honest question (“Why did that miss happen?”), you just got better.

If you never take the shot because you’re scared of missing, you don’t get any information. You stay the same.

3. Coaches don’t hate honest mistakes. They hate lazy and repeated ones.

Important difference:

Honest mistake:

• You saw an opening, you tried the right thing, but execution wasn’t perfect.

  • Example: Right idea, bad technique.

Lazy mistake:

• You didn’t move your legs.

• You threw with one hand on the water.

• You didn’t even look where you were passing.

Repeated mistake:

• Coach corrects you 10 times, but you never try to change it.

• You keep making the same error without thinking.

Coaches are totally okay with honest mistakes when you’re trying to do the right thing.

What bothers them is:

• No effort

• No focus

• No learning

So if you:

1. Try with full effort,

2. Listen to feedback,

3. Adjust next time,

…you’re exactly the kind of player coaches want, even if you mess up sometimes.

4. Being scared of mistakes makes you play worse

When you’re afraid to mess up, you start thinking like this:

• “What if I miss?”

• “What if coach gets mad?”

• “What if my teammates judge me?”

All of that noise in your head slows you down.

You don’t see the shot, you see the mistake in advance.

Instead, you want your mind to be on simple, controllable cues:

• “Hips up.”

• “Look at the target.”

• “Finish the shot.”

• “Step into the pass.”

If your brain is full of fear, it can’t focus on these simple things.

So weirdly, being afraid of mistakes makes you make more mistakes.

5. Everyone you look up to has missed thousands of times

Take any top water polo player:

• They’ve missed open shots in big games.

• They’ve thrown passes out of bounds.

• They’ve turned the ball over on counters.

The difference is not that they never failed.

The difference is:

• They didn’t let the fear of failing stop them from playing their game.

• They used the mistakes as feedback, not as an identity.

If you want to reach a higher level, you’ll need to go through your own “library” of misses and bad passes. There’s no way around it.

6. Your job is effort and decision-making, not perfection

You can’t control:

• If the ball hits the post

• If the goalie makes an insane save

• If a teammate drops your pass

You can control:

• Your legs (hips up, strong base)

• Your decision (“Is this a good shot or should I pass?”)

• Your focus (“Am I locked in, or just throwing the ball?”)

So instead of thinking:

“I must not miss.”

Switch to:

“I will make the best decision I can, with full effort. Whatever happens, happens.”

If it goes in → great, now repeat.
If it doesn’t → great, now you have information to adjust.

7. What to tell yourself after a mistake

Mistake happens. You miss the cage. You throw the ball away. It sucks.

Here’s a simple script in your head:

1. Acknowledge it – “Okay, bad shot / bad pass.”

2. Quick check – “Why? Rushed? Hips low? Didn’t look?”

3. Reset phrase – “Next play.” / “I’m okay.” / “Strong legs, simple play.”

4. Show with body language – Head up, swim back hard, no drama.

Your teammates and coach will trust you more if:

• You don’t collapse mentally after a mistake

• You bounce back fast

• You show with your effort that you’re still locked in

In one sentence:

You shouldn’t be afraid of missing a shot, missing a pass, or making a mistake because those are the exact actions that teach you how to play the game – and the players who grow the fastest are the ones who are brave enough to try, learn, and try again.

If you want help building this kind of confidence with structured water polo training for kids, here are your next steps:

• 👉 Join Waterpolo University as an Individual Member – get access to all online water polo courses, drills, and lessons for ages 10–15, so you always know exactly what to work on. (link this text to your membership page)

• 👉 Get a Waterpolo University Club License – give your entire team access to the same training system, dryland programs, and youth water polo classes, so everyone can improve together. (link this text to your club license page)

You can also start by clicking the “Start Here – Get Your Personalized Plan” button on the homepage if you’re not sure which option is best yet.