Sports Confidence: How to build it

If there is one athlete known for his sports confidence it would be Cassius Clay. Not sure who he is… than you might remember him by his alias – Muhammad “I am the Greatest” Ali.

Ali, famously said, “Champions are not made in a gym. Champions are made from a desire, a dream and a vision hidden deep within them.” And judging from his athletic career and life, his fierce never quit attitude was a big reason why he was so successful.

When you have sports confidence, you tend to show enthusiasm even when a loss might be lurking on the horizon. To persevere even when things aren’t going as planned. And, to take responsibility for your success AND failure. Those are the hallmarks of a winner even if the gold medal wasn’t achieved.

Some ways to improve sports confidence:

There are a lot of ways to improve on your confidence as an athlete. Having a strong support group of family, friends, teammates and coaches is important. You can get inspiration and motivation from tracking your goals in a book or journal (a secret that elite athletes seem to do naturally). Or, you can use the techniques of creative visualization, positive self-talk and relaxation anytime you need an internal boost to your sports confidence.

Sports confidence can be a slippery little fish…

Developing confidence isn’t exactly an easy task. For one thing, most athletes have a tendency to focus way too much on outcomes or results. When you’re in a slump or lacking confidence to begin with. This can send you spiraling into a pit of despair.

The only thing you’ll start to see is how everyone else is better than you or how you just don’t measure up.

Which is exactly why working with a Sports Psychologist or sports mental trainer can help keep you focused and on track to achieve your goals. At the very least, you know that you’ll have someone on your side to be a cheerleader in your corner with professional skills.

The pressures of sport can either grind you down or polish you up… it’s completely up to you.

Tags: build sports confidence, sports confidence, sports psychology