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Laura Ann GiraldiSports in SocietySports Psychology:Self --
Confidence in Sport ActivityNovember 21, 1996
(1)
Sports Psychology is one of the most up and coming sciences of
the present time. This practice focuses on training athletes to use
their mental capacities along with their physical talent to reach
what is known as peak performance.Sports Psychologists analyze the
performance of athletes and use motivational,cognitive, and
behavioral principles to teach them peak performance levels. Sixty
to ninety percent of success in sports is due to mental factors and
psychological mastery. Sensing the importance of mental training in
recent years, scientists have developed mental training programs.
These programs all vary in technique, however, they all include
skills focused on mastering the art of self-confidence. There are
considerable amounts of evidence in sports literature that there is
a direct correlation between self-confidence and peak
performance.
Self-confidence exists in all walks of life. It is defined as:
the strong relationships between a person's thoughts, feelings, and
behavior which if mot
ivated correctly can help an individual excel with confidence in
anything theytry to do. Most of the time self-confidence is viewed
in accordance with how well an athlete performs at a certain sport
activity. To examine this further onemust look at how an athlete
prepares themselves before the task in order to understand how
their self-confidence reigns so high when it comes time for them
toactually compete. An athlete must trust what enables them to
build their self-confidence.
(2)To start, an athlete needs to know themselves and what their
limitations are. Through personal experience an athlete will know
what they are capable of doing,and also what challenges them. From
such personal experiences an athlete can recall past success as
well as past failures. Therefore, an athlete must strive off
that knowledge of past success to reassure themselves that they
have done it once, and that they can do it again.
All is easier said then done. Building self-confidence can be
one of thehardest things an athlete has to do. This involves a
great deal of mental awareness and self-discipline. For it could
take only one negative experience to destroy an athlete's ego. This
is when the process of filtering comes into play. Filtering
involves using negative experience in a positive way. More
specificallyan athlete must look at such experiences carefully and
learn from them. They must not focus on the bad, but how it can
help them in the future. For example, a basketball player who
missed a foul shot that could have won the game must not vi
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ew the experience as I am a loser; he must say "My foul shooting
needs a littlehelp." In turn, this athlete should take a little
time before and after practiceto drill this technique. By doing
this he is not focusing on the negative he isbuilding towards a
positive. This technique is very important to the athlete who is
looking to strive for peak performance. For an athlete who dwells
on the negative aspects
(3)of their performance will never appreciate or accentuate
their positive aspects.This in the long run will not allow them to
develop to their full potential.
A second technique in gaining self-confidence is a skill called
self-talk. This is indeed a skill. This should be done when the
athlete is spending quiet time with themselves. This is the time
when an athlete must throw out all modest tendencies and
falsehoods. This is a time when the athlete must be
completelyhonest with themselves and their performance. This is
also the time when the athlete must allow themselves to be their
own best friend. These self-talks shouldbe very detailed and taken
seriously. They should include statements about pastsuccess, hard
work, team cohesion, uniqueness, talent, endurance, persistence,and
determination. This list may vary greatly, however it is these
positive reinforcements that make all the difference. Self-talk is
also a time when an athlete may reflect on compliments he has
received and success up to this point. Thistechnique is as
important as any in the road toward peak performance.
A third technique in gaining self-confidence is imagery. Imagery
if doneproperly does build confidence. Imagery or mental rehearsal
is the process of
creating mental images of yourself performing at optimal levels.
Confidence increases because you avoid dwelling on the past, where
you could find experiences of failure. Confidence is further
enhanced when you maintain focus in
(4)the present time rather than letting your imagination drift
into the future, where the possibilities for failure or injury can
exist. Simply, an athlete's confidence is enhanced because they see
themselves achieving the goal the learn whatit looks like, feels
like, sounds like, or even smells like. Therefore, the situation
becomes familiar to them and they feel it belongs to them resulting
in a feeling of success. An extra bit of confidence like that can
carry an athlete through almost anything, and they can feel as if
they can do things that may have seemed impossible. This technique
is considered by many sports psychologists to
be one of the greatest tools aiding athletes with
self-confidence.The above techniques are basically internal and
must be done on an indiv
idual basis. There are however some external techniques that
build self-confidence. Coaches can practice many self-confidence
skills with their team.First, team cohesion sessions are a
necessity. This is the time when the team can learn to act as one.
Not only physically, but mentally as well. If they have faith in
one another it is inevitable that they will gain faith in
themselves. Second, using constructive criticism can make the
players feel much better about themselves. Coaches should make
suggestions like "Why don't you try this," instead of yelling at
the players and saying, "you are doing it all wrong!" Little things
as these make all the difference. Third, a coach should make
pre-game, mid-game, and post-game
(5)Pep talks. This is a crucial and emotional time for the
players any negative statements could be detrimental. This is the
coach's opportunity to make the team feel as if they are on top of
the world regardless of the opponent or the score.
A technique that is most often forgotten, and can be utilizes
both internally and externally is to have fun. If you play as if
the score does not matterchances are you will feel better about
yourself than you ever have. For it is only a game, and life is
more than the game itself.
In conclusion, confidence as presented here can either make or
break anathlete. Without confidence in oneself the physical talent
means nothing at all.
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Believing in yourself goes a long way and it is necessary to
survive in not only sport activity, but in all walks of life. A
little confidence goes a long way.
References
Cox, Richard H., Sport Psychology: Concepts and Appllications.
Madison:Brown and Benchmark, 1994.
Ferguson, Howard E., The Edge. Clevland: Getting the Edge,
1990.Ryan, Frank. Sports and Psychology. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice
Hall,
1981.
