Travis Kelce Says His Confidence Blossomed In Childhood Thanks to These Two Things

Travis Kelce oozes casual confidence, but he didn’t always have such a self-assured air — especially as a kid.

During a pre-Super Bowl press conference on Friday, the Kansas City Chiefs player was asked where his confidence in front of the camera comes from. Kelce playfully joked, “My mom’s home videos, man. Just having that camera on me at all times,” he continued, pretending to hold an imaginary camcorder to his face. “Seeing what silly stuff I’m gonna do next.”

Fostering His Confidence on the Field

Setting jokes aside, the NFL player said, “Honestly, I’ve always been comfortable in the rooms that I’ve been in and I’ve just been fortunate that, I don’t know, I’ve been able to kinda look into a camera with ease, I guess.” He added, “I don’t know, it’s just having fun out there, I guess.”

Kelce continued to admit he wasn’t always so comfortable with attention, but being an athlete helped him overcome his shyness. “Sports for me is where I built my confidence,” he told the press. “You won’t believe it, but I was a shy kid growing up, up until I got onto the sports field, or the court, or the ice rink,” the tight end explained. “And then I kinda let my personality show a little bit more ’cause I was having fun, I was having success, and that just kind of propelled me to have confidence in life,” Kelce concluded.

A Different Kind of Confidence

Though he shied away from attention as a kid, the beloved athlete was confident in a different way — much to Donna Kelce‘s dismay. During an October 2023 episode of his and brother Jason Kelce‘s New Heights podcast, Travis revealed that their mom often put him on a leash as a child due to his knack for wandering off on family vacations.

Recalling a trip the Kelces took to an amusement park, the Chiefs star said Donna decided to buckle him into a “harness” after he’d gone off on his own one too many times. “She eventually got pissed and sick of us getting lost, and she put me in a leash,” he said. “I was a leash kid, just dragging my parents across the entire amusement park,” Travis added with a laugh.

Jason, for his part, didn’t recall the memory. He jokingly lamented, “I missed out on the leash.”

Before you go, check out these celebrity kiddos who love sports.