October 13, 2016. Fredericksburg, Texas. Confidence.

While sitting around the fire last Saturday evening, David and I discussed the impact of confidence on   athletic performance.  You hear about it all the time.  I have never been able to figure out the connection between confidence and your hands and feet but I know it happens.  You see it often in golf.  The commentators will often say that one specific golfer is playing with great confidence and then they go on to win the tournament.  I saw the Rider Cup.  Watching Michelson and Garcia play against each other was a wonder.  Birdie after Birdie, for a total of 19 between the two men.  Was the display of competence  evidence of confidence or competitiveness?   Or both?  I just know it was wonderful round of golf to watch.  

Last evening, a young man, selected by Toronto number one in the last draft, scored 4 goals in his first National League game.  First he tied with three other players who had scored in their first NHL game.  But then he scored another so he was in a class all by himself.  No one had done it before.  Time will tell but perhaps the confidence of being drafter number one led him to score four goals in his very first game.   His Mother, who was at the game, cried.  Unfortunately, his team lost in overtime to Ottawa, despite the fact of his confidence.

On the flip side, you often hear that a team lost because they expected to win.  In other words, they were over-confident.  I guess it is like everything else.  A moderate amount is necessary but an over-abundance kills the golden goose, in sports as in real estate.    Amazing really.