ABSTRACT
Confident athletes perform better than less confident athletes, confident teams perform better than less confident teams, and confident coaches perform better than less confident coaches. Confidence is multidimensional, meaning athletes need to believe in multiple abilities required to meet the challenges in their sports. A most basic type of confidence is confidence in skill execution. Validation as a source of confidence for athletes can take many forms. Athletes can define success in many ways and should define it for themselves as opposed to allowing others define success for them. The leadership, decision-making, and feedback effectiveness of coaches are important sources of confidence for athletes. Strong and resilient confidence is based on a challenging physical training foundation, practiced self-regulatory skills, strong leadership and a supportive team/organizational culture, and success that is personally validating of one’s abilities and achievement.
