Self-confidence

It is normal for confidence to fluctuate over time but confident athletes more often believe that they have the ability (both mentally and physically) to achieve their goals. All athletes can develop self-confidence over time, from season to season, from one performance to the next.

Where does it come from?

• Knowing you have the technical, tactical and mental ability to perform the task.
• Recalling your best ever performance, recalling your best ever training session, recalling your best effort under pressure.
• Performance debriefing: recognising what worked well, what can be improved for next time, what to maintain and how to make these changes.
• Practice is also a key element of confidence. Rehearsal, repetition and training all contribute in positive ways to building confidence.
• Knowing how, when, and what to do and having the courage to do it when it counts.

Ways to enhance Confidence

• Using positive self-talk. Words and statements to reinforce that you can do it! E.g., “You have done this before, you can do it again”; “You are stronger, fitter and faster than last year”.
• Imagery and mental rehearsal. You can enhance confidence and create muscle memory so that the next time you actually perform the skill, it’s like your mind and body know ‘exactly’ what to do.
• Focusing on the process in training. Athletes who are prepared to reinforce the little things in training often build a solid foundation to successfully perform the more complex things in competition.
• Taking responsibility for both your successes and failures. Athletes who ‘own’ their performance often have stable level of confidence as they emphasise effort and hard work over results or outcomes.
• Keep a performance log / record. Record your successes from both a results and an effort perspective to capture your performance more accurately.

Things that can attack Confidence 

• Evaluating your performance purely from a results or outcome perspective.
• Clumping all of your ‘bad’ or ‘not so good’ performances together and telling yourself that you will never perform well again.
• Focusing more on the things outside of your control (such as other competitors, the past or future, the result) rather than the factors within your control (such as the process, effort and technique).
• Becoming overly critical or negative. Avoid downplaying small wins, extra efforts in training or other positive aspects of your performance.

Want to know more?

To learn more about self-confidence and develop strategies that work, please contact one of our performance psychologists to arrange an individual consult. (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.)