The most difficult opponent an athlete ever faces isn’t across from them on the opposing team; it’s their own doubts and fears going through their mind.

When an athlete, you can relate to the constant fear of failure before a game/match and how much that can affect your performance and confidence. According to peaksports.com “ Fear of failure is one of the biggest mental barriers athletes face.”

When asking Hazelwood West tri-athlete senior Janiya Fleming about her confidence in sports. She says confidence is very vital role in competing at the best of your ability.

“When I go into a match thinking I’m not good enough, I always end up losing,”Fleming, captain of the girls wrestling team and Cross Country team, said.

When asked about how she plays when her confidence is at its peak and her stress levels are managed. Fleming explains how her performance is almost increasingly at its best.

“Whenever I am confident I wrestle and run at the best of my abilities. I have never lost a match being confident and I have never ran my personal best time while being anxious that I would not preform well” Fleming said.

The importance of believing in ones abilities and training before a competition is crucial to an athlete’s success because it builds a risk-taking mindset and not playing not to lose.

“One important key to success is self-confidence.” Successful professional American tennis player Arthur Ashe said,

When going into a game confident in one’s abilities and preparation, the athlete will most likely compete to the best of their ability. On the other hand of the spectrum, if an athlete goes into a game doubting themself and thinking they are going to lose, it will make them collapse and crash. According to sciencedirect.com  a study shown on 72 tennis players on confidence and stress induced anxiety. sciencedirect.com said “The results of the study showed that self-talk can enhance self-confidence and reduce cognitive anxiety.”

According to Trine.edu , “Self-confidence can make or break an athlete’s performance because it facilitates concentration, affects goals, increases effort, and more.”  

  Not just performance increases, but it makes the sport more enjoyable, being confident, and when an athlete reaches a certain level, they begin to enter a  “flow state.” According to peaksports.com  , “In a state of Flow, you become fully absorbed or focused in the moment on what you are doing, especially when you feel challenged. In this moment of flow–similar to peak experience–you might feel in an effortless state and perform well.” 

Similar to Fleming many other athletes at the higher level believe that confidence is a necessity for playing at your best performance. “I kind of entered a Flow State. I’ve been there before while climbing. You are not thinking ahead. You are just thinking about what is in front of you each second.”  Famous adventurer/climber Aron Ralston said.