“I always tell my teams, ‘Humble enough to prepare, confident enough to perform’.
New York Giants Coach Tom Coughlin

Hang around any type of sport for very long, and you’ll most assuredly hear the term “confidence” come up in coaching or in analysis of performance. Athletes and coaches know that confidence is important to achievement, progress and ultimately victory. Sometimes it is a term easily thrown around, although not thoroughly understood as to how to achieve it, and more importantly how to sustain it through adversity.

Mental toughness in football is developed by achieving peak physical performance through strong confidence and fostering a positive mental focus. Confidence is the certainty of your ability to perform, both during times of prosperity, but more importantly during the inevitable times of difficulty. The athlete with solid football confidence feels in control, with a positive focus and belief in their ability to meet any challenge ahead.

In the physical game of football, confidence plays a major role in whether an athlete overcomes or succumbs to the powerful obstacles presented by an opponent. Just as we say that self-confidence is important to success, lack of confidence is even more detrimental to performance.

Vince Lombardi once expressed this best when he said “Confidence is contagious. So is lack of confidence.” In the team sport of football, athletes feed off of each other’s mental focus and outlook in their abilities. Lack of confidence is easy to see in the body language of players as the walk dejectedly back to the huddle, or hit half- heartedly on their next block. Building confidence requires constant dedication, and the preparation must occur daily in practice. The player’s possessing strong football confidence consistently work to improve their mindset and this continues after the opening kickoff of any game as well.

The work ethic and time spent practicing also impacts the confidence of players and the overall mental toughness of a team. Hard work is the ticket that you “deserve” to win. Legendary quarterback Roger Staubach offered his thoughts into his calm demeanor under pressure, “Confidence doesn’t come out of nowhere. It’s a result of something…hours and days and weeks and years of constant work and dedication.”

However, it’s not enough just to put in the physical time in the weight room, study time over film and playbooks, or practice time on the field. During all of these activities the player achieving the best results is also concurrently working on their football mind and focus. Constantly setting short and long term goals is one activity that stimulates the mind to constantly strive for improvement rather than blankly just going through the motions or mundane exercises. This also allows for analysis after practice to seek areas of improvement on a constant basis, while developing a method for improvement on the next day.

Sports psychologists in football impart the importance that confidence plays in the overall mental toughness of any football athlete. Instilling a positive mindset and mental focus strengthens confidence to face challenges and reach peak physical execution on the football field. It is of greatest importance that coaches and players alike implement exercises and time to reinforce confidence and improve the mental toughness and focus of the team.

Championships are won by the players with football confidence and teams that are mentally tough.