CONFIDENCE

Confidence in an athlete is an elusive and mysterious thing. There is no easy answer to explain how an athlete gets confident or stays confident. An example of two different baseball players in the post season in baseball illustrate the point. Cole Hamels, one of the 3 aces on the 2010 Philadelphia Phillies pitching staff recently tossed a complete game shut out to close out the division series with the Cincinnati Reds. This was a different Cole Hamels who had pitched terribly in the 2009 World Series against the Yankees and who had remarked that he couldn't wait for the season to be over. This was more like the Cole Hamels who had been the winningest pitcher for the Phillies in 2008 and the MVP of the World Series.

What was the secret to his return to his hero status of 08? A quote just prior to the game gives a hint of the difference. Hamels said: "I've learned that you can't try to be a hero in the postseason. You just have to play your game. If you do that right, then you can become one."

In 2009, Hamels lost himself when challenged by the acquisition of Cliff Lee. Lee outperformed Hamels and made Cole question himself. A year of basking in his accomplishments on the banquet circuit made him physically and mentally unprepared for the 09 season .Instead of comparing himself to himself, Hamels lost confidence because he couldn't match the standard set by Lee. In contrast in 2010, Hamels had learned his lesson. With the acquisition of Roy Halladay, the best pitcher in baseball and the midseason addition of another All-Star in Roy Oswalt, Hamels was relieved of the pressure to have to be "the guy". He was now free to be himself and accept the challenge to match the bar set high by Halladay. His confidence was now born from measuring himself against himself, a fact that he demonstrated throughout the season. His record was only 12-11, having lost several games by one run, while amassing an ERA of 3.06. The losses that piled up against him came despite him pitching extremely well. The difference is that he now knew how to stay within himself, compare himself to himself, and stay confident despite setbacks.

Hamels story stands in contrast to the loss of confidence shown by Scott Rolen of the Cincinnati Reds. Despite being one of the best hitters on the best hitting team in baseball in 2010, Rolen had a terrible series against the Phillies. He batted 1 for 11, a .090 average and had two errors. Two elements seemed to cause the poor performance. One was the pressure to match the challenge brought by facing the 3 best pitchers in baseball. The second was several months of back soreness that led him to lose trust in his body and himself. The combination of trying too hard with a body that you can't trust led to the loss of confidence that showed in Rolen's performance.