Genuine confidence is probably an athlete’s most powerful weapon. Genuine confidence means you have an expectation of performing to your peak, both in training and in games and it is this expectation that bears the fruit of maximum effort.
If you expect yourself to win or to reach a particular goal, you are far less likely to be satisfied with a “just doing enough”. You take the extra effort and make it happen.
Confidence produces more than mere performance. I love to watch our captain train. Even when she is personally tired, she keeps her head up, keeps team momentum rolling. Positive body language – no hands on hips or head when tired, looking strong – has a massive impact on the confidence of teammates and on the perceptions of the opposition.
Confidence means new challenges can be faced and surmounted. True confidence, I think, comes from what Lombardi call “the perfectly disciplined will”. It comes from knowing you are seeking excellence and have done all you can in pursuit of it.
