Players practice for a long time hoping that their improved skills will be transferred onto the court or course. We see golf players spending hours on the driving range hitting ball after ball; or, basketball players practicing one free throw after another. With repetition, they notice an improvement on their shot skills. They leave the range or the court feeling over confident and looking forward to their chance to show their sharper skill.
When they play a real match, they are surprised that their improved shot making is not showing up. They begin to feel frazzled by the unexpected poor results, which translate into a feeling of frustration and confusion. Their feeling of confidence, which was built by repeating the same shot over and over again, in reality, only produced what is called, “false confidence.” These players only worked on the technical part of their shot making, but did not put it to the real test. To generate an optimal sense of confidence, players need to pretend that their practicing shots are being executed under simulated conditions that very closely replicate the expected playing scenario. Until they put their new skills to the test, they have only worked on the technical part. However, as we know it, ideal performance is achieved when we fully trust in our intuitive learning, not on our mechanical learning.
Transferring practicing skills to real performance is a recurrent topic of conversation amongst coaches, players and sport psychologist. It is the ultimate goal to achieve. It is quite difficult, but not unattainable. One of the strategies to avoid building a false sense of confidence and achieve optimal level of confidence is to practice pretending they are performing in a real game situation.
If you are a golf player, then go to the driving range and imaging that you are playing a familiar course. Pretend you are teeing off from the first tee. Choose the appropriate golf club and play each shot as if you were hitting from where the balls lie. Do not hit a mulligan. Your shot counts, just like in a real golf course. As you imaging playing in a real course, you will fee some adrenaline, which is what you most likely feel anyways. Then, practice a breathing relaxation and visualize your shot. Make sure you follow a set pre-shot routing before every shot and play one shot at the time.
To build an optimal confidence:
As you incorporate your new skill, add to your practice a real game simulation. It will bring feelings that you would normally experience on the game. Practice how to manage those pretend feelings and create a routine whereby you learn to manage those emotions. The more real the pretend situation is, the easier it will be to execute your newly learned skills when it counts the most.