Self Confidence in Sport

“The sport-specific term sport-confidence was used to represent an athlete’s belief or degree of certainty that she or he has the abilities to perform successfully in sport.” (Horn, 2008). The revised model regarding sport-confidence was based on a dispositional-state approach, factoring in how the athlete feels right now to consider their confidence on a more specific level instead of the more general thinking of how they usually feel. There are three key types of sport-confidence: cognitive efficiency, physical skills and training, and resilience. There are nine sources of sport-confidence noted as most important to athletes, and they include: demonstration of ability, mastery, social support, vicarious experience, coach’s leadership, physical/mental preparation, physical self-presentation, environmental comfort, and situational favorableness.

There’s a theory that a coaching style can affect the confidence of the team or individual athletes. As athletes grow and transition into higher competitive levels in their chosen sport, sport-confidence can be imperative for this successful transition. There are many different sources of sport-confidence as previously mentioned, and each athlete can build and sustain their sport-confidence by some or all of these sources. This can vary. In looking at the theory of a coaching style though, many athletes look to their leadership in their coaching staff for guidance and encouragement that can substantially affect their views of their own self-confidence in their abilities and goals.

Maria Kirdeeva, a graduate of the European Master in Sport and Exercise Psychology at the University of Lund (Sweden), two elite junior ice hockey teams in southern Sweden were studied and found that the athletes felt confident when they saw positive results in their performance on the ice, such as making a good play or scoring a goal. They also felt confident when they received a lot of ice time, or playing time, which the coaches control. Finally, they felt confident when they felt and received social support from coaches, teammates, and their parents. Both teams also acknowledged that positive feedback from their coaching staff was important, and therefore could affect and increase confidence in the athletes.

Even National Hockey League (NHL) players must have self-confidence in their abilities to be successful on the ice. This again can vary from player to player, but these elite athletes can gain their self-confidence through their past successes, experiences, and performances, through practices, and support from others. Dan Bylsma, recent former head coach of the Buffalo Sabres, played amateur hockey in the East Coast Hockey League in the past. During these playing days, he kept a journal that logged his performance to work toward his dream and goal of playing in the NHL one day. His focus and belief of being capable of achieving his goal helped him to work hard and improve on his skills in the game. This led to better results and maintained his self-confidence.

In my own past experience working with college division III club hockey clubs and tier III junior A and B hockey teams, it makes sense to me at a junior elite level of competition. As the athletes are transitioning from a lower compete level, where they are still learning fundamentals of their game and having fun with it, into a higher compete level, where they are playing to win and move up. In addition, some of the players and coaching staff on one of the college division III teams that I was involved with shared some insight on their personal feelings of self-confidence in their sport. It was very interesting to see both similarities and differences in the perspectives of self-confidence in sport.

A former player that was previously a back-up goaltender had left for a period of time when we had several goaltenders on roster, and then came back to try playing as a forward. This individual said that to self-confidence as an athlete is believing that you are able to commit to and complete a given task. He rated his own feelings of self-confidence on a scale of 1 being low and 5 being high, and he told me that he felt he was as confident as a 5 in the “real world,” but on the ice he felt like a 3. This may be related to his change in position in the sport, as he grew up playing as a goaltender and was learning a new position now. He explained he was not fully comfortable as a forward yet. He added that trust in his teammates encourages him, and it helps to have more experienced players on his line to ease the situations on the ice. He felt that having support from coaches, friends, family members, and especially teammates had a major impact on his feelings of self-confidence.

Another player, a defenseman, was a graduate student at the time and the oldest player on the team. He offered a different perspective on feelings of self-confidence in sport. This individual thought of self-confidence in more general terms, rather than as an athlete or in the sports specific terms. He did not believe you could be confident as an athlete until you saw the extent of your abilities by learning limitations, and in doing so, you could feel confidence in anything below those limits established. Knowing your limitations allows you to make intelligent decisions on whether or not to take risks above your confidence level in a game situation. He felt as confident as a 4 in hockey specifically, and he said that his confidence was felt and encouraged based on his personal past effectiveness and success. Unlike the first player I spoke with, this player felt that comments from others, such as a teammate or coach saying he played a good shift on the ice, can be useful but common, and he did not value these supportive comments as highly towards sustaining confidence.

An assistant coach had previously played at several competitive levels of college hockey. He felt that self-confidence stemmed from looking inward and constantly working to improve on your craft. He felt that the constant drive to become stronger, faster, and more precise with your moves on the ice contributed to self-confidence. This individual felt that positive feedback and verbal encouragement from teammates and coaches worked to bolster his self-confidence. He also felt that seeing improvement on certain aspects of his game to develop his skills on the ice more contributed to his self-confidence. He emphasized that in team sports, particularly in hockey, there are intangibles in a game that players need to work and improve on which can be difficult to monitor, and therefore verbal reinforcement again can bolster self-confidence.

The most skilled player on the team can still struggle with their game and abilities due to a lack of self-esteem or self-confidence. Coaches can help their players through strong communication skills. For example, a coach should be able to listen to verbal feedback from their players and observing their body language as well. Coaches should also be careful with the verbiage they use, as their players do listen and hang on to the words of their coaches. Negative comments from a coach can ruin confidence in a player and can even push athletes away from the sport. Setting goals is helpful, as well as giving each player on the team a specific role that will contribute to the team’s overall goals.

Resources:

Cohn, Patrick. (04 October 2009). “Self-Confidence to Play NHL Hockey.” Hockey Psychology

Tips, Mental Toughness Strategies for Hockey. [Internet]. (2014). <http://www.hockey-psychology.com/2009/10/self-confidence-nhl-hockey>

Horn, Thelma S. (2008). Advances in Sport Psychology (3rd ed.). Champaign, IL: Human

Kinetics.

Kirdeeva, Maria. (17 September 2012). “Can a coaching style affect a player’s confidence? A

Lund University Master Thesis.” European Masters In Sport And Exercise Psychology Erasmus Mundus Programme. [Internet]. (2014). <http://emsepblog.tumblr.com/post/31725747234/can-a-coaching-style-affect-a-players-confidence-a>

Sacilotto, Enio. “Build Self-Esteem In Young Hockey Players.” (10 February 2012). Hockey

Now. [Internet]. (2014). <http://hockeynow.ca/minor-hockey/25030-build-self-esteem-in-young-hockey-players>