The Confidence-Competence Loop: Building Confidence Through Skill Mastery

Confidence and competence are two mental components that play critical roles in an athlete’s performance. Many athletes may feel that if they feel competent with a skill, they are more likely to also feel confident. It is important for endurance athletes to understand what each of these components is and how they are connected to each other to enhance their self-awareness and performance.

Understanding Competence in Endurance Sports

An athlete builds competence over time. Usually, when an athlete learns a skill, it is at the foundational level. Over time, athletes can make the technical and tactical components to execute their skills, which helps them strongly believe in themselves. The process of competency requires an athlete to dedicate training and mastery of a specific skill set. When competent with a skill set, it means that an athlete executes it well.

Competency can be found in numerous areas of an athlete’s performance. It can include physical conditioning for their sport by ensuring they are training well to endure the demands, the mental skill development needed to adapt to training demands and environments, and the technical knowledge to understand specific training components and skill execution. As athletes enhance their competence levels, they may be more likely to adapt to situations and circumstances. 

Confidence and Endurance Performance

Confidence is the belief that one can successfully accomplish a specific task. As athletes enhance their confidence levels, they may connect confidence to their abilities to achieve specific goals and handle certain challenges. Confidence levels are fluid. It is very common for an athlete to feel confident in one situation and lack confidence in another.

For endurance athletes, confidence may be connected to their ability to maintain composure and focus on specific tasks during challenging moments. Some athletes might also find they are more likely to take risks in competitive environments when they feel confident. Confidence may also help an endurance athlete think that they are better able to manage their performance anxiety levels and self-talk patterns. There is an inverse relationship that exists between confidence and performance anxiety. If confidence rises, performance anxiety is more likely to decrease, and vice versa.

The relationship between confidence and competence is important to explore. One of the most important elements is the athlete’s self-awareness of their abilities. If an athlete is not competent in a skill set and has not developed that foundational framework, it could be very challenging for an athlete to feel confident in those moments. It is also important to recognize that even if an athlete is competent in a skill, numerous external components could challenge their confidence levels.

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Building Competence and Confidence

There is always the opportunity for athletes to continue developing their competence and confidence in their sport.  Here are five strategies that athletes can implement to develop both effectively:

1. Focus on the process, not only the outcome

Building competence and confidence is about focusing on the process instead of only the outcome. Athletes should allow themselves to celebrate the progress made with each training session, even if it appears small. It would also be helpful for athletes to shift their attention and focus to mastering skills and techniques instead of only focusing on the outcome goal.

2. Don’t forget to set small, achievable Goals

Athletes should incorporate challenging but achievable goals. As they accomplish each goal, their skillset and confidence levels will improve alongside their competence and self-belief. When goal setting, gradually progress to more challenging goals over time and consider keeping track of progress and growth through a journal, notebook, or app.

3. Include daily self-reflection

Every experience, whether a success or setback, allows growth, learning, and development. After sessions and competitions, endurance athletes should take some time to reflect on their performance. They should monitor what went well, what challenged them, and how they would like to improve. This self-reflection allows athletes to become more self-aware and mindful of their competence and abilities.

4. Embrace support and constructive feedback

Receiving feedback from coaches, teammates, and training friends provides athletes with invaluable information regarding areas of improvement. Constructive feedback allows athletes to understand areas of their performance that they need to work on improving and recognize what they’re doing well. Having a support system that athletes respect and value assists in enhancing confidence levels through encouragement and support.

5. Cultivate a Growth Mindset

Every athlete has the opportunity to grow in their sport. Through self-compassion and self-awareness, athletes can be more in tune with their specific needs. Learning to embrace challenges and view setbacks as growth opportunities is a unique viewpoint, but one that allows athletes to push forward and improve. Embracing a growth mindset assists athletes in maintaining their confidence levels during challenging times and staying resilient as they progress toward achieving their goals.

Confidence and competence are developed over time. They result from an athlete putting forth consistent effort in mastering a skill set, incorporating self-reflection to become more mindful and self-aware, and intentionally focusing on growth.  Endurance athletes need to remember that each challenge they face strengthens not only who they are as athletes but also who they are as a person.

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