Empowering Performance

Hi Everyone, thanks for checking out this week’s newsletter. Below you'll find:

• Performance Concept of the week

  • Empowering Performance: Using a “systems” approach to support your athlete in building confidence

• Resource of the week

• Things to Explore

• Got Questions?

Performance Concept of the Week

Empowering Performance: Using a “systems” approach to support your athlete in building confidence

If you were to ask any high performer about their preferred pre-performance state (or mindset), most will tell you they crave the feeling of confidence or being confident.

Following up last week’s article on confidence, this week we will focus on the practical application side of supporting confidence building in your competitive or high performance athlete.

It’s no surprise confidence is a powerful, motivating feeling that helps drive performance. However, confidence is exactly that—a feeling no more, no less. Confidence ultimately puts us in a positive mindset, enhances motivation, drive, and more.

Confidence is earned, not given!

Recall a time where you felt very confident, chances are it was a variety of factors that contributed to those feelings.

Think back to when you were in high school (or what you observe now as a parent). If you had a test on a Friday and studied 2-3 hours a night for the week leading up to the test, had a couple good nights of sleep, some exercise, and were refreshed you probably went into the test feeling very prepared and confident because you put in the time studying to get ready to perform.

Conversely if you started to study the night before the test, only slept a few hours and were tired and exhausted when you went to write the test, you probably would not have had that confident feeling going in.

Sport works the same way! It is the combination of physical preparation, mental preparation, and cognitive preparation (thinking skills) and the connection of these three that helps us feel and be confident. If an athlete waits for that feeling of confidence, they are probably going to wait a long time.

Confidence is not a pre-requisite for performance, nor is it required, or even a guarantee, but when your athlete has it they can take their performance to new levels and achieve unbelievable things. The reality is everyone wants it. So how do we build confidence then?

Instead of focusing on feeling confidence, focus on the systems that are needed to be prepared physically, mentally, and cognitively.

We often think we need to focus on strategies to make us feel confident, but if we focus on the systems that contribute to a high level of play/performance they will all add up to a great performance. By focusing on the systems this is ultimately process thinking and preparation.

Systems to consider:

• Daily Elite Habit Systems - Sleep, nutrition, hydration, rest/recovery, and mental health.

• Physical Preparation Systems - Strength, speed, power, agility, aerobic/anaerobic fitness, flexibility/mobility, balance, coordination, etc.

• Technical Sport Specific Skills - Sport specific (and possibly position specific) technical skill development.

• Mental Preparation Systems - Goal setting, self-talk, imagery/visualization, concentration/focus, mental toughness/agility, emotional management, mindset, routines, mindfulness, past success, etc.

• Cognitive Preparation Systems - Game sense, decision-making, anticipation, situational awareness, self-awareness, and self-regulation, etc.

As the parent of a competitive or high performance athlete determine the “systems” you are knowledgeable, capable, and comfortable supporting and work with your athlete on developing these areas. Remember it is the Coaches job to deal with many of the systems noted above. Parents should support their athlete with their emotional health first, and other systems they are capable of. You can always support preparation and elite daily habits, and encourage them to put in the time to prepare.

What Does the Research Say to Help Us?

Felz (1984) developed a model of sport confidence as a means of athletic performance. Ultimately this breaks down various mental and physiological performance systems that contribute to self-efficacy and athletic performance.

Summary

Supporting your athlete's confidence is an ongoing process that requires patience, understanding, and constant reminders. As a parent, your role is important in helping your athlete navigate the challenging world of competitive sports. By following these strategies and nurturing their self-belief, you can empower your athlete to reach their full potential through building their confidence through preparation in various systems for when it matters most!

Action Plan

This week’s action plan includes evaluating your athlete’s systems.

1. What daily elite habits can I support my athlete with (sleep, nutrition, hydration, rest/recovery, and mental health)?

   • These systems are the simple items that contribute to being prepared, and ultimately confidence.

2. What other systems can I support my athlete with? Encourage open communication and ask them what they feel they need help with.

   • Remember - stay within your areas of competence, and get expert support on areas you are not familiar with.

3. How can I support my athlete emotionally?

   • Often times athletes need the emotional support to deal with the daily grind.

Resource of the Week

One powerful way of identifying confidence is to understand what an athlete is thinking, how their body felt, and what emotions they experienced during a “best ever performance” versus a poor performance. This will help them become aware of the “systems” that may be off on any given day and allow them to self-regulate their own systems. Check out our My Best Ever Performance Tool as an exercise to identify your systems on good days and not so good days.

Things to Explore

• Read: Our Reading Library

• Download: Resource Guide Series

• View: Previous Weekly Performance Concepts

Got Questions?

Do you have a question, or want to know more about a topic. Let our team of experts help you. Ask your question here by clicking the button below. We will post answers to questions within future newsletters.

Don’t forget to follow us on social!