Building self-confidence in athletes

Abstract

Although we hear athletes and exercisers talk about confidence all the time, it is not an easy term to define precisely. Sports psychologists define self-confidence as the belief that you can successfully perform a desired behavior.Vealy (1986) originally viewed self confidence as both a disposition and a state. Vealey (2001) had seen sport self confidence as a social cognitive construct that can be more trait like or more state like, depending on the temporal frame of reference used. Confidence might be something you feel today and there fore be unstable (statelike), or it may be part of your personality and thus be very stable (trait like). Most importantly confident athletes believe in their ability to acquire the necessary skills and competencies, both physical and mental, to reach their potential. Less confident players doubt whether they are good enough or have what it takes to be successful.It is important to make final comment about defining self confidence. Specifically, some evolving and recent research (Vealey & Knight, 2002) has revealed that like many other current personality constructs, self confidence may be multidimensional, consisting of several aspects (e.g., confidence about one's ability to execute physical skills)Research, indicating that the factor most consistently distinguishing highly successful from less successful athletes is confidence (Jones & Hardly, 1990; Vealy, 1999). Gould et al. (1999) found that confidence was among the chief factors influencing performance at the Nagano Olympic games. Cox (1998) stated that successful sports experiences develop self confidence and motivation to achieve success. This shows that successful performances correlate with self confidence. Edwards and Hardly (1996) have conducted a series of investigations to explore the potential influence of directional perceptions of anxiety on the anxiety performance relationship. This study revealed that cognitive anxiety can have a facilitative effect upon performance. Research has indicated that self confidence is an important predictor of performance that is at least partially independent of cognitive anxiety (Edwards & Hardly 1996).Geoige (1994) stated that over the past three decades, the construct of self confidence has received a lot of attention from sport science researchers. Self confidence is one of the most frequently cited psychological factors thought to affect athletic performance and it has also has been called the most critical factors in sport (George, 1994).We have found that self confident athletes use psychological skills such as mastering fear, goal setting and more often than their less self confident athletes. Self confident athletes are mentally tough and also they find that exercise challengeable and enjoyable. Self confident can be developed through intervention packages. What follows is a five stage approach to implement strategies that athletes can use to enhance their self confident.Step 1 : Identify your biggestfearsThe first step in building confidence is to identify that which is holding athletes back from being the athletes want to be. If athletes haven't experienced the success they desire, it is most likely because athletes have fears that are holding them back. Some common fears that get in the way of success include:* Fear of failure: Ironically enough, the more athletes fear failure, the more they will fail. Athletes who get to the top of their sports learn to overcome this issue early in their careers. They learn that being scared of failing equates to competing passively (due to fear of taking risks that might fail), and they know that no athlete can become better in his or her sport when competing in a passive manner.* Fear of success: This, too, is a common fear that precludes athletes from becoming champions. Some athletes actually focus on the negatives (in their minds) that will coincide with their future successincreased responsibility, increased exposure, increased expectations. …