Dear Warrior - Tap into Your Most Confidence Self
Dear Warrior,
How do you get game day confidence?
This week we chatted with rising junior, Haleigh Hoefs of the University of Nebraska-Kearney. Before beginning her career at UNK, Haleigh spent her freshman year as the starting second baseman for Chadron State University where she became the softball team’s first All-American after finishing the season with a .447 batting average and setting a school record for slugging percentage of .837.
Now known for her contagious energy and confidence, Haleigh told us that this type of confidence hasn’t always come easy for her and there were days when the confidence she exuded was an attempt to overcompensate for the lack of confidence she felt inside.
After doing some research on the mental side of the game, Haleigh realized the importance of mental preparation for sports performance. “I figured out that the best way for me to be prepared for a game and to sell that I was confident was to try to eliminate as many unknown variables as I could.”
She put mental skill #8, Visualization into practice to help her prepare for anything she may face when it came to game day.
Skill #8 - Visualization
“By the time I got to the game, I had already run through every possible scenario in my head...It was hard not to be confident at that point because I had already visualized every success that I could have in that game.”
By learning how to visualize success, Haleigh was preparing her mind, body, and senses to achieve it on game day. No matter what happened on the field, she was able to respond with confidence rather than waste mental energy trying to decide how to handle the situation because she had practiced how she would respond through visualization. Her body and mind already knew what to do.
We all have insecurities, Warrior. In an unpredictable sport like softball, it can be easy to have our confidence shaken by what is going on around us. But confidence can be taught! By practicing the mental skill of visualization, we prepare ourselves not only for the challenges we will face, but for how we will conquer these challenges.
What we’ve seen in our mind’s eye through visualization simply takes another form when it comes to game day. On game day, we see these scenarios with physical eyes but our positive response can be the same as it was when we were visualizing our success.
The game of softball is challenging, but you can prepare for success. Trust your preparation and visualize yourself overcoming the obstacles that meet you on game day.
It takes time to perfect this skill, but soon you’ll be seeing the same success that you saw with your mind’s eye with your physical eye.
Girl, you got this!
Team Fearless, inspired by Haleigh Hoefs
About Haleigh Hoefs
A Lincoln, Nebraska native, Haleigh studies Industrial Distribution at the University of Nebraska-Kearney where she plays second base for the softball team. She names offense as her favorite part of the game and is passionate about creating meaningful connections with her teammates, coaches, and others who she gets to meet on the field.
“I figured out that the best way for me to be prepared for a game and to sell that I was confident, was to try to eliminate as many unknown variables as I could.”