Prior to Super Bowl III, New York Jets quarterback Joe Namath made one of the boldest statements in the history of sports when he guaranteed victory against the powerful and heavily-favored Baltimore Colts. Namath and the Jets made good on his claim, however, and defeated the Colts in what many consider to be one of the greatest upsets of all time. Broadway Joe (as Namath was called) certainly wasn’t short on believing in his ability to achieve his goals – and neither should you.

Former NBA great Michael Jordan once said that you have to expect things of yourself before you can do them. What MJ is really talking about is confidence, or your overall belief in your ability to be successful in your sport. Keep in mind that ultimately your performance will be determined by how you think, feel, and act during a competition. You need to realize that your confidence plays a very important role in how you think, feel, and act. More specifically, research in sport psychology suggests that confident athletes:

·        think more productively,

·        feel more positive emotions and less negative emotions,

·        and act in ways that lead to greater achievement.

To get a better idea of how your confidence level might affect the way you think, feel, and act while you play, let’s look at William, a very confident pitcher for his high school baseball team.  (Continued)

Prior to Super Bowl III, New York Jets quarterback Joe Namath made one of the boldest statements in the history of sports when he guaranteed victory against the powerful and heavily-favored Baltimore Colts. Namath and the Jets made good on his claim, however, and defeated the Colts in what many consider to be one of the greatest upsets of all time. Broadway Joe (as Namath was called) certainly wasn’t short on believing in his ability to achieve his goals – and neither should you.