Develop An Olympic Mindset: Building Confidence

Courtesy: Dr. Zac Hojnacki

Few things bring me greater joy than sprawling out on the couch for two weeks in the summer every four years and watching the Summer Olympics!  Every Olympics has its defining moments; I for one will never forget where I was when I witnessed anchor leg Jason Lezak improbably chase down Alain Bernard in the 4×100 Freestyle relay at the Beijing Olympics to set a world record and help secure Michael Phelps’ record-breaking eighth gold medal. Much like Lezak’s performance, Bobby Finke’s world-record swim on his way to gold in the 1500 freestyle just days ago elicited a similar child-like wonder in me, as it defied expectations and served as a reminder of the power of belief to propel an athlete to competitive greatness.

The Paris Olympics has served as an excellent case study on the value of developing a Teflon mindset to compete your best when the pressure is greatest. More importantly, it’s clear many of this generation of Olympians have adopted what is perhaps the healthiest perspective on competition to date, and as a result, are demonstrating that athletes can endure — and even thrive — in intense competitive environments without compromising their overall mental health and wellness. I’ve been reflecting on some of the defining performances at this year’s Olympics in (and out) of the pool, and what swimmers and coaches can learn from these extraordinary performers about developing an Olympic mindset. In this iteration, I explore the concept of building confidence.

Olympic Confidence

Confidence may be both the most often cited yet least understood of the mental skills athletes want to develop. Confidence is not a façade you slip on like a light jacket, nor is it developed by simply standing in front of a mirror and giving yourself a pep talk. Confidence is the byproduct of a daily commitment to excellence, as well as an ability to frame both success and failure in terms that keep you returning to the fight each day. I saw two performances from week one that are excellent examples of how an athlete can build and utilize confidence to be their best when it matters most.

After her gold medal performance in the 200m breaststroke, U.S. Olympian Kate Douglass said about her race “I feel like this was a long time coming. I feel like I was physically ready for this race. Just what I’ve done in practice these last few months leading up to this week, I knew if I executed that race well, I would win it.”  Douglass’ statement highlights a key element to developing confidence; the foundation of confidence is elite preparation. It’s clear from her comments that Kate and her coaches had a plan to maximize her odds of winning gold in that event and that Kate felt she had executed that plan to the best of her ability. She acknowledges that preparation and confidence alone don’t guarantee the desired outcome – she would still need to execute on race day to reach her goal. But her understanding of how her training plan prepared her for the event, and her commitment to that process, allowed her to enter the race with the confidence needed to stay calm and focus on the controllable elements on her way to a gold medal performance.

Unfortunately, even the most well-prepared athletes lose sometimes. How do you build and maintain confidence when you prepare your best and still fail?  Look no further than 100m dash Olympic champion Noah Lyles. A gold-medal favorite after winning the 100m at the World Championships, Lyles failed to even win his heat in the preliminaries. Asked about his underwhelming prelims performance, Lyles mused “It was more expected they would fall in line and they didn’t…I’m pretty scared for everyone else right now.”  Faced with the reality of an unexpected defeat, Lyles rationalized the outcome to be a result of his opponents’ extraordinary effort and motivation and avoided questioning his abilities or preparation. In his situation this approach was the right one; there is no benefit to self-doubt heading into an Olympic final. His response was consistent with research in psychology on locus of control. Locus of control is an individual’s perception of the main causes of events that happen in their life. When a person perceives an outcome because of personal decisions or effort, they are utilizing an internal locus of control; when they believe the result to be due to outside forces like luck or challenging circumstances, they have an external locus of control. Lyles demonstrates an external locus of control when evaluating failure (I lost because the competition pushed themselves too hard in the prelims), and an internal locus of control when assessing his future prospects (I will run my best in the final).

This is the best mindset for an athlete to have during competition because it allows him to draw from success as a source of confidence while remaining unfazed by disappointing performances. There aren’t a lot of major adjustments that can be made in the hours between prelims and finals, so Lyles would not have benefited from second-guessing himself at that moment. Even if his rationale is shaky, maintaining his belief in himself gave him the best chance to perform in the final. It’s important to note that this confidence alone does not guarantee success; Lyle’s won the 100 by just .005, and easily could have finished second or third. Nonetheless, his confidence allowed him to run the race unimpeded by self-doubt, propelling him to a come-from-behind victory in the final meters. Many athletes would have given up after falling behind early, especially in a race that only takes about 10 seconds to run. It is a testament to the value of confidence Lyles’ steadfast belief through the finish line allowed for his historic performance.

Tips & Takeaways

1. To build confidence, have a plan to achieve your goals and benchmarks to measure your progress. Write down major milestones in a journal or logbook (improved interval or pace times, a personal best non-taper swim, a challenging set you finished that intimidated you). Review these milestones so you can draw from them to build confidence in what you are capable of, especially when you are feeling unsure of your abilities.
2. In competition, try to adopt an internal locus of control after success, and an external locus of control after failure. After a strong swim, remind yourself you earned it through hard work and dedication, and that you can control the outcome and perform your best if you execute your strategy. After a disappointing performance, identify external factors that impeded you and a strategy to overcome them for the next race (a poor night’s sleep, a missed turn, etc.). There is a time to look inward after failure – it is important to consistently evaluate if you are adequately preparing to achieve your goals – but that window is most appropriate after the competition when you have a chance to reflect on and learn from your mistakes and adjust your long-term approach accordingly.

ABOUT DR. ZAC HOJNACKI

Dr. Zac Hojnacki is a mental performance coach who specializes in helping athletes overcome performance anxiety and fear around returning to play after injury.  After concluding his swimming career at the University of Arizona, Zac spent over a decade as an elite competitive swim coach, including a six-year stint as the Head Coach of BGNW Marlins in Mt. Kisco, NY, where he was named the Metropolitan Swimming Senior Coach of the Year in 2023.

Zac offers one-on-one coaching for athletes and provides workshops and consulting services for teams and organizations.

To learn more visit www.mentalcoachzac.com or email [email protected]