Born Confident

With basketball season officially underway soon, I sincerely hope that over the summer you challenged yourself athletically and took time to dig a little deeper to discover who God wants you to be on & off the court.You've heard the expression "natural-born leader", but are characteristics like leadership and confidence really in our DNA from birth? Some people even mistakenly associate the term confidence with arrogance or cocky. In my opinion, confidence should invoke a much more positive connotation, and my friend and former WNBA colleague, Lynn Barry would agree. Lynn is a basketball aficionado, William & Mary Hall of Famer, Academic All-American Hall of Famer, former assistant director of USA women's basketball, wife and mother who's advice is worth reading about...
Confidence... Is it in you?

by Lynn Barry

When the game is on the line, do you want the ball in your hands or are you more likely to defer to someone else? When you walk into a room of strangers, do you introduce yourself to the group or do you head straight for the corner and hope no one saw you come in? Do you welcome the challenge of a difficult test at school or do you find yourself paralyzed with fear because you are not prepared? Athletically, socially, and academically, confidence is important for success. Webster's dictionary defines confidence as "belief in one's abilities; the fact of being or feeling certain; assurance."


How can you gain belief in your abilities? How can you become more confident? Is confidence something you are born with or can you develop confidence on your own? Preparation and practice are two ways to gain confidence. Preparing yourself properly for situations that you might encounter in sports, academics, or social environments can help you meet those conditions with added poise and self-assurance. Preparation can be mental, physical and even spiritual. Going over situations in your mind and coming up with possible ways that you might respond could be a way of preparing mentally. Praying to God for strength, self-confidence and peace of mind as you handle certain circumstances can be reassuring.


Finally, physical preparation, especially where sports are concerned, can be tantamount to achieving confidence in any situation you face. Physical preparation means practice, repetition, goal setting, dedication, determination, focus...all the things you have heard over and over for your entire life. Now you must decide how important these things are to you. You must believe that these qualities, attributes and work habits will make your dreams come true. To gain confidence in your abilities as an athlete, you must be willing to put the hours of practice in that are necessary to give you a level of comfort in any situation or critical game environment.

Practice means working on your skills until they are automatic, testing your talents against worthy opponents, taking the instructions that your coaches are giving you seriously, and taking the time to do a little extra work when everyone else has gone home. For example, do you stay after practice and shoot 100 free throws? Do you do the Chapter Test and the Chapter Review in your Math book before a test, even though the teacher didn't assign it? Do you practice in the mirror introducing yourself to others and offering them a firm handshake and a smile?


Performing with confidence in pressure-filled situations can become easier with practice. My husband is Basketball Hall of Famer Rick Barry. He won an NBA championship, was the championship series MVP, and was voted as one of the 50 greatest NBA players ever. He is convinced that pressure does not exist in game situations if you are confident in your abilities. If anything, confidence makes you thrive in tough situations. You want the ball because you believe that you can excel. You are confident in your ability to make the big play and are willing to take the chance that you can make it happen. Rick gets very upset when sports broadcasters say that an athlete "has a lot of pressure" on them. He believes there is no pressure if they are confident in their abilities. The situation that they are being asked to perform in is "critical", but with confidence, pressure does not exist. You welcome these opportunities as chances to excel, not situations to fail. Of, course the minute your confidence starts to waver; you will feel the weight of the world on your shoulders! A great athlete who is confident in her abilities, doesn't feel pressure, she feels excitement about the opportunity to put the long hours of training and preparation into effect. A prepared, confident athlete does not feel pressure, athletically, academically or socially. Is it in you?