Skilled players can make a big difference to teammates with less ability by how they speak, behave, and share their knowledge. The aim is to build confidence without being patronising.
Everyday attitude
- Include them in conversation, warm‑ups, and social bits so they feel part of the group, not a burden.
- Show visible patience (no eye‑rolling, sighing, or blaming) when mistakes happen, and move straight to “next one” language.
How to give feedback
- Praise effort, good decisions, and small improvements, not just outcomes: “Nice idea to look for that pass,” even if it failed.
- Offer one simple tip at a time, in plain language, and keep it short so it feels helpful rather than like a lecture.
Playing style during games
- Pass to them regularly instead of freezing them out, even if they lose the ball sometimes.
- Adjust your own play slightly to make things easier (better-weighted passes, clearer runs, calling early) so they can succeed more often.
Informal mentoring
- Volunteer to stay a few minutes after training to practise a basic skill together in a relaxed way.
- Demonstrate a skill slowly, then let them try, and reinforce what they do well before mentioning one thing to fix.
Building a positive culture
- Publicly back them if others get frustrated: “We all started somewhere, let’s help out.”
- Celebrate team successes as shared work, and highlight moments where less‑skilled players contributed (“that run created the space,” etc.).