“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” — Eleanor Roosevelt
Self-confidence has been described as the most valuable psychological tool. The term is commonly interchanged with self-efficacy and defined here as the belief in one’s ability to succeed. Confidence is instrumental to achieving peak performance and can fluctuate during a game, a season and even a career. In completing my doctoral work, I researched attributes of NHL captains and discovered that a high level of confidence rated as the top characteristic of these high-performing hockey players.
This quality extends to teams as well as individuals. Doc Rivers, former head coach for the Boston Celtics, frequently talked about the value of continually building his team’s confidence. He credited the success of his teams to a collective belief in themselves.
To clarify, a high level of self-confidence does not mean that athletes never doubt themselves or their skills or that they don’t have setbacks. Athletes and teams can and often do feel nervous before their games. However, despite anxious or negative thoughts, confident players retain a belief in their ability to perform well. While mistakes or poor performance may occur, high-achieving players tend to take them in stride. As one professional defenseman shares, he learns from his mistakes and then chooses to remember his best plays.
In hockey, fluctuations in one’s belief can occur at the youth, college or professional level. One of my clients, despite numerous emotionally painful setbacks, remains determined to play professional hockey. In addition to his on-ice training and off-ice strength and conditioning, he consistently practices his mental fitness techniques that best align with his unique situation.
Professional women’s goalie Jetta Rackleff shared that one of her biggest setbacks from her occurred “when the Blades (transitioning from Boston to Worcester with new staff) dropped me after coming back from shoulder surgery.” She continued, “Those instances are the hardest. You have to maintain self-worth even when someone else has stopped believing in you!”
Of all the mental skills, self-confidence can be the most challenging to achieve and maintain since it is complex, can be based on long-term beliefs and may often relate to prior comments by parents or coaches.
Confidence is not static. It is dynamic and includes showing up physically and mentally, eating healthily, hydrating well, sleeping and recovering fully, and developing one’s game through feedback and instruction from coaches. Athletes may increase their confidence after overcoming challenges or setbacks. As Canadian hockey legend Hayley Wickenheiser recently stated, “The biggest part of being a pro, and what separates guys, is who can keep your head on, keep it when things don’t go well.”
Different levels of confidence can have direct implications for performance. For example, as previously discussed, if someone possesses low self-esteem, they tend to underperform. Similarly, if players are overconfident, they tend to underperform. Research has found that up to a certain point, performance improves as confidence builds. As with Goldilocks and her porridge, the ideal is to have it “just right.”
For many players, the confidence they possess in practice does not carry over into games, when the stakes are higher. The lack of belief in their ability to execute under pressure can prevent players from playing their best.
As with other physical and mental skills, athletes possess varying levels of self-confidence. Similar to building quadriceps or other muscles through strength conditioning, hockey players can build their self-confidence and other mental skills through consistent mental conditioning.
Benefits of confidence:
- Enhanced performance
- Greater effort in practice and games
- Stronger resilience
- Positive mindset
Ways to build confidence:
- Reflect on prior successes: Recall (or maintain a log of) great plays, goals, saves or wins.
- Think and behave confidently: Utilize your mind-body connection.
- Practice your mental conditioning techniques: Train with your uniquely modified sport psychology, positive psychology and mindfulness techniques.
- Train hard: Push yourself hard on and off the ice. Knowing that you have worked as hard as possible with a positive attitude will instill you with the most powerful confidence.
Think about times you play with confidence. How are you skating? How are you passing? How accurate are your shots. How routine are your saves, if you are a goalie? It is important to have a clear idea of what you are doing to play your best. Once you are clear on this idea, practice and then believe in your ability to play at your optimal level.
By managing theirs minds and focusing on the good plays, players can increase their chances of playing the way they want. By training the mind along with the body, players optimize their ability to play to their potential even amid doubts or setbacks.
Knowing that you have worked harder than your opponent will provide the greatest confidence possible. Remember what Wayne Gretzky exclaimed: “Everything I did in hockey, I worked for.”
Dr. Elizabeth Ward is a former Harvard hockey player, licensed psychologist and peak performance coach/consultant. Learn more at www.DrElizabethWard.com.
