Confidence . Athletes must work everyday to build on it and to maintain it. It is the quality that binds with skill to create an athlete who is difficult to defeat. In all sports, athletes who are successful maintain a confidence that is stable and hard to shake. If successful athletes lose confidence, they have the ability to get it back quickly. On the other hand, there are some less successful athletes whose confidence level changes from day to day, match to match, or point to point. A drop in confidence can result from a bad loss, an injury, or other things that have nothing to do with the sport. Conversely, a sudden spike in confidence can come from a big win, enhanced fitness, or watching a video of yourself doing tons of things right. As a Conditioning Coach, I've found that the best source of confidence comes from past success. Once you start setting and meeting goals, you'll find it easier to dig deep down into yourself and find not only the will to compete, but also the will to succeed.
Want to improve your confidence? Try these suggestions…

And then forget them. Collect any positive feedback you can from a bad performance and store it for the future. Carrying mistakes into the future will not help the cause at all. Correct mistakes and move on.

The fitter you are, the better your performance will be. Once your level of fitness improves, stress-- whether it be physical, mental, or emotional-- no longer becomes an issue. Participating in strength training and aerobic activity goes a long way in helping you to become the athlete you want to be.

Your goals should be goals that you can control. Have daily, weekly, and monthly goals and keep records of your results. The goals should be challenging but realistic. The more goals you set and meet, the more confidence you'll feel.

Believe that your coach has put you in a position to succeed. Believe that your practice sessions have made going onto the performance floor just like going into another practice session. Going into a competition feeling prepared is a great confidence booster.

Being confident is a feeling that is influenced by the way you think, what you say to yourself, and how you act. Be positive. Live positive! If you find that hard to do, then just be neutral. Once you slip into the negative self-talk it's hard to get out of it. Don't say to yourself, " I was horrible," or " I never do it right." Instead, say to yourself, " I will perform to the best of my ability." Sometimes, life is that simple.

As a Conditioning Coach, working with athletes who believe in themselves and their abilities makes my job easier and more fun. I frequently feed off their energy, which results in our workouts going to another level. The key to maintaining a healthy level of confidence is to remember… never give up!