2.2.3 Self-Confidence

SELF-CONFIDENCE

Examples where self confidence is very important:

• • I have faith in myself, in my techniques (Good self- confidence)
  • My confidence in myself is unstable (Low Self- Confidence)
  • It’s easy to weaken my confidence (Low Self- Confidence)
  • Any little injury or bad training can weaken my confidence (Low self-confidence)
  • I have frequent doubts about my chances of doing well in a match (Low self-confidence)
  • When I start doing it wrong, my confidence drops quickly (Low self-confidence)
  • I usually trust myself even in the most difficult moments of the competition (Good self-confidence)

➡️ We can define it as the conviction or confidence that a team/athlete has in their own resources or qualities to achieve a certain result.

➡️ It has to do with the realistic self-knowledge of your own qualities. If you increase your perception of control and effectiveness in specific situations, it improves your self-confidence.

➡️ Think of it as your toolbox. It is important to have your toolbox with the necessary tools, knowing how to use them and for what purpose.

Source: https://www.flaticon.es/icono-gratis/herramientas-para-reparar_3048343

➡️  Self-confidence is not always the same, it varies during the season depending on what is happening. It takes time and effort to increase it. However, it can be lost in a second by a thought, a doubt or an action. It is often said that self-confidence goes up the stairs, but goes down in the elevator.

Source: own elaboration 

➡️ It does not work with just a positive attitude or with words, it is not “something” that you carry in your pocket or that passes by us when it is needed. Players and coaches must learn HOW to work (and how NOT to do it) on self-confidence in the day to day to improve your well-being and your sports performance.

➡️ It is a non-negotiable quality for success (but not the only one). Self-confidence and good performance go hand in hand. Without self-confidence its very difficult to achieve good performance.

There are many ways to work on building self-confidence. For example:

✅Appropriate weekly targets. When we set goals and meet them, our self-confidence is reinforced.

🏆Success diary. After every training session write 2 or 3 actions that were accomplished with success.

📝Pre-match sheet: Anticipate difficulties in competition and possible solutions. With pre-match chips to evaluate your strengths and how to use them, your opponent’s weak points and how to attack them. Also anticipate the difficulties that you may encounter and what solution to apply at that time.

📊Post-match sheet: Objective analysis of performance, that is, effectively identifying and managing both mistakes and successes. We generate the match analysis on the obtained result or no specific relevant situations. Doing this analysis independently of the result, and focusing on analyzing only aspects of your own performance, is a huge toehold. I would say that it is one of the first tools that a footballer who boasts of wanting to improve every week has to incorporate.