Want to Help Your Players Develop a Growth Mindset? Here’s How!
3 Keys to Supporting a Growth Mindset
As coaches, we all want to see our players thrive. Thriving as a player requires being able to make mistakes, take risks and grow and often, embracing growth can be uncomfortable. Cultivating a growth mindset (the understanding that abilities can be developed through mistakes, effort and learning) has been a hot topic in education and coaching communities for a few years now. What’s often left out of the discussion, though, is the fact that players can’t implement a growth mindset on their own. They need coaches and team leaders to foster an environment for it.
This is way easier said than done, and it requires patience with yourself as a coach. You won’t do it perfectly all the time, but we can work at providing our players with an environment that helps them cultivate a growth mindset at lacrosse practices and games. See what I did there?
Here are three key strategies to help your players embrace challenges, learn from mistakes, and grow:
1. Build Strong Relationships
Growth starts with trust. If players feel safe in your program—safe to try, safe to fail, and safe to succeed—they’ll be more likely to take risks and push themselves. That trust begins with the relationships you build.
Make time to connect with your players on a personal level. Show them you care about more than just their stats or performance. When players know you’re in their corner, they’ll feel empowered to step outside their comfort zones and embrace the learning process.
Ask yourself: Do my players see me as someone they can trust, or someone they need to avoid disappointing? When they know you’re cheering for them, even through the tough moments, they’ll start to believe in their ability to grow.
2. Walk the Talk
Every coach preaches growth, but do your actions match your words? When players make mistakes—and they will—your reaction matters more than the mistake itself.
Use these moments as teaching opportunities rather than reasons to criticize. A calm, constructive response teaches players that failure is part of the process, not the end of the road. Praise their effort, guide them on what to adjust, and remind them that setbacks are a natural part of improvement.
Remember: You set the tone. If you model resilience and a positive response to mistakes, your players will follow suit. Growth isn’t about being perfect; it’s about learning and adapting, one step at a time.
3. Keep Practices Fast-Paced and Challenging
This one might be a little counter-intuitive. When it comes to skill development, repetition is key. But it’s not just about quantity—it’s about the quality of those reps and the environment in which they happen.
Fast-paced, engaging practices reduce the pressure of any single rep. When players are constantly moving, trying, and adjusting, mistakes lose their sting—they become just another part of the process.
On the flip side, if practices are slow and players are standing around, the stakes for each rep feel much higher. If you only have three reps in a drill before you move on, each rep matters more in the mind of the athlete. This can create fear of failure and hesitation to take risks. Keep your practices dynamic and challenging to give players more chances to grow in real time.
A good rule of thumb: More reps at a higher pace = more opportunities to improve.
The Bottom Line
Helping your players develop a growth mindset is about more than just drills or skills—it’s about creating an environment where they feel supported, challenged, and encouraged to learn.
Build relationships to foster trust.
Respond to mistakes with teaching moments.
Run fast-paced practices to create space for improvement.
When you commit to these principles, you’ll see your players not only improve their game but also develop the confidence and resilience they’ll carry with them far beyond the field.
Want more tips for coaching success? Check out our resources for creating awesome lacrosse experiences at every level!