Developing High Levels of Confidence

Confidence is the keystone to performing at your best. When athletes are confident, their mind and body are relaxed allowing them to perform at their best. There are a few things that can be done to ensure you have the highest level of confidence possible. First of all, engineer your approach to competition so that you are doing things that you have already successfully done in the past. Just knowing that you done it successfully before, will give you confidence.

Be sure you stick to your game plan. It is a common mistake of teams to see their competition doing something, which is obviously better but something they have never done, and change their plan at the last moment. Although the move may be faster, you will be unfamiliar with it and therefore uncomfortable. To do this correctly, you must be aware of what you can do. Train properly by sticking to a plan and keeping good records, and you will know it. With deciding how to perform, the bottom line is: go with what feels comfortable. Choose a couple of different options, run through them in practice and warm ups, then pick the one that feels good even if it is not the absolute most efficient method.

Positive visualization is paramount for confidence. When you are reviewing your performance in your head, see it working perfectly. If your fears intrude and start making you see mistakes, know them for what they are and put them away from your mind. Remember it is your mind, so you are in control of what you think.

Positive support from your teammates and those close to you will also help build your confidence. A history of positive support will relieve you from the stress of worrying about what these people will think of you if you make a mistake. When mistakes happen, realize that the person is trying his best and support him with positive reinforcement. Remember: his performance on the next round is tied to his confidence, and your teams success is tied to his performance. If you make a mistake, realize that you are better than that and go up on the next round determined to do your best. Let the last play go, so you can focus on the next.