Building Confidence: Part 2 of 3

There are so many factors that can either increase or decrease an athlete’s confidence in any given situation, that it can seem overwhelming; however, with heightened awareness and implemented mental skills, athletes can evaluate, manage, and increase their confidence to achieve at their desired level.  As mentioned in part 1 of our 3-part series on confidence, there are two essential facets of confident performance that an athlete must be mindful of when building confidence: external factors that are present and the athlete’s mental framework.  In this article, we will be taking a closer look at how external factors can affect an athlete’s confidence and how they can be managed to facilitate confident performance.  What is important for athletes to understand is which external factors are most influential to their confidence, which ones are controllable in each given situation, and how to manage the controllable external factors to provide athletes optimal confidence for each given situation.  

The first step for any athlete looking to increase confidence from external factors is to become aware of how they perceive the external factors around them.  Being self-aware of how external factors such as performance environment, team cohesion, and interactions with the coach affect performance is essential to becoming confident.  Some athletes perform their best in a non-threatening environment such as playing at a home location in front of friends and family, while others perform at their peak when they are challenged, playing at hostile environments where the opposing team fans heckle their opponents.  Playing poorly in either situation does not indicate whether you are a “good” or “bad” athlete, it simply means you prefer one environment over another.  It is the same case with team cohesion; certain athletes need to be supported by their teammates and value being close to their team, while others prefer competing against their teammates and perform their best when they feel pressured to outperform them.  Again, knowing how you respond to each situation and what makes you perform your best are key.  Leadership styles vary considerably and there are many different types of coaches out there.  Some athletes need coaches who support them unconditionally in a calm, controlled manner; others need coaches who will challenge, and sometimes even threaten their playing time to get the best performance possible.  Understanding as an athlete how you respond mentally to different coaching styles is key to ultimately becoming confident. 

Once you are aware of how external factors such as performance environments, team cohesion, and coach styles effect your confidence, the next step is to separate the controllable factors from the uncontrollable factors in each situation.  Performance environments can seem tough to control; however, in separating out the controllable versus uncontrollable factors, athletes may find that they are more in command than they think.  Examples of factors you can’t control include: the pool location, loudness of the crowd, and what fans say.  Although that may seem obvious, athletes often don’t focus on controllable aspects of these factors, like how much exposure to the environment they face.  For example, staying in the locker room for stretching or halftime talks may be a good option.  Using noise canceling headphones during warm-up, going under water, or visualizing a peaceful place are also things you can do to lessen the exposure, and ultimately, the impact a hostile environment has on your confidence.  The same concept is applicable with team cohesion; athletes need to remember that we cannot control the thoughts or statements that others make, but we can control how we react to what others say and the impact we allow those statements to have on ourselves.  If you realize that you lose confidence as a result of certain teammates’ accusatory and unsupportive statements, let those teammates know that you do not perform well when you hear negative teammates; by doing so you are communicating to your teammates what you need to be successful.  If there is not a change in team interactions as a result of communicating, remember that the statements of others are often a reflection of themselves, and place more emphasis on feedback you receive from teammates who support you in a way that makes you most confident.  Just as with teammates, we cannot always control what coaches say or think.  Again, talking to your coach about what you as an athlete need to be successful can be a powerful step in improving communication with him or her.  Even if you don’t get the immediate results you may be looking for, opening a line of communication in which you and your coach can develop a deeper mutual understanding of each other will ultimately lead to improved confidence. 

As an athlete, once you become aware of how external factors affect your confidence at a personal level, then you are able to separate out what you can and can’t control from each situation; focusing on managing what you can control will ultimately be the key to improved confidence.  Managing your exposure to unfavorable performance environments, controlling how you react to the actions of others, and communicating effectively with your coaching staff are all great ways that you can take back power over uncontrollable factors and ultimately improve your confidence.  Remember, performance environments, team cohesion, and interactions with coaches are just a few of the many external factors that can influence your confidence as an athlete. 

To start your journey into improving athletic confidence, reflect on the following questions to become more self-aware of how external factors affect your confidence:

-   Think about a time that you’ve played your best... where were you playing?

-   Who do you want watching your games? How do they make you feel?

-   Which teammates do you turn to in tough times? Why do you turn to them?

-   Who motivates you? What do they do to motivate you?

-   Who is your favorite coach? What qualities do they exhibit?

-   When do you realize you are confident or un-confident: before, during, or after a game?

Dan Matulis, MS, CMPC