Fearlessness vs. Recklessness (Unwavering Confidence)

About a month ago I had the idea to design a sport psychology workbook. I've always been interested in this topic and I've enjoyed reading about and coaching it. I'm done my first draft and today I'm going to post a section from it. The goal of this workbook is to make a simple, effective and practical tool that any athlete could benefit from. An athlete could pick a section that interests them and in 5-10 minutes have a new idea or redesigned mental tool for their sport.

The sections I'm sharing today is titled 'Fearlessness vs. Recklessness (Unwavering Confidence).' It's basically about how some elite athletes are able to maintain their high level of self-belief regardless of recent struggles. I discuss examples from various sports and provide insights into how I have improved in this area over the years.

As of now the workbook is 21 sections and each section begins with my persona experience as an athlete and coach and an overview of the topic and then I conclude with a practical implication. These implication areas will guide you through developing or modifying that specific tool for your game.

The workbook is designed for athletes of any sport, even though my expertise is squash. Feedback is appreciated. It's just the first draft so I know there are still some parts missing. Even though incomplete I thought it would still be useful to post a section form it. I'm still unsure how I'm going to publish/post this workbook, so I will share this information when it's complete. Without further ado, here is section 8.

Section 8: Fearlessness vs. Recklessness (Unwavering Confidence)

An area that has to do with playing in the zone that’s worth mentioning is playing with unwavering confidence. How does a baseball batter go up to the plate and expect to get a hit if they’ve struck out their last few at bats, or if they are hitless over a number of games? How does a basketball player take a big shot when they’re having an off night and make it? The best athletes in the world have this unwavering confidence that most amateurs and even many professionals don’t possess. If an amatuer player with far less skill takes a big shot in a team sport after struggling all game do they, their teammates and coaches have the confidence that they will make it and that it was a right shot to take? Taking a shot without confidence will most likely be tentative and result in a missed shot. 

How does one gain this level of self-efficacy regardless of recent struggles? As they say, winning breeds confidence and as your skill increases your self-belief increases too. There also must be a correlation with making big shots and having the increased confidence to do it again, regardless of what has happened previously that day. I fully believe that the best athletes in the world have days and times where they’re low on confidence, but for the most part they have rehearsed certain plays and shots so frequently that they can execute more times than not in the clutch when the game is on the line. The main point from that last sentence is the mind, that they are not experiencing any self-doubt and that they continue to have positive self-talk and belief that the next thing they do is going to work, period. 

Clearly a lot of training must take place to reach this point as an athlete, but it’s also how you’ve been coached and how you practice. As already mentioned you need to have a lot of success and experience with winning. I’m mostly interested in how that athlete was able to attain the mental skills necessary to get to this winning mindset. When this athlete was younger and developing they must have made many mistakes trying to, for example take a difficult fade away jump shot. A more conservative and conventional player would always want to be set properly to take a higher percentage set-shot; this is what most coaches encourage and like to see; look for the highest percentage play that will yield the best outcome. Somewhere along the line that athletes must have practiced that difficult play over and over to make it higher percentage and to be able to execute it even when they’re having an offday. When you see someone struggling, but they execute in the clutch is a big reason why I love sports. Certainly there are other athletes that can make that same play, but fail to do so when the pressure is on and even more so when they've been struggling. 

I attempt to demonstrate a good balance as a coach between trying to get someone to play smart and technically sound, but also letting the athlete experiment and play around with what they can do. This is why in squash, as other sports too there are cultural differences in styles of play. Squash is actually a terrific example of this because most Egyptians are known as being creative and attacking while players from a country like England are known for being more attrional and structured. Egyptain squash has ruled the game at all levels recently yet somehow other countries aren’t able to adapt their style to their own athletes. Is this style and mental trait something that was learned and fostered when the current players were young? Is it instilled by their culture or by their peers and role models and coaches? Either way it is a lot of fun watching these contrasts in styles and I really appreciate the fearlessness they play with. Egyptian players for the most part have a more relaxed swing which I believe also contributes to being able to play the way that they do. If someone is nervous about playing a shot they tend to get tense and automatically think, ‘don’t mess up.’ When someone is thinking such a negative thought they are severely impacting their chance of executing a difficult skill under pressure. This is the outlook I try to have when playing now, play with confidence and expect the shot to go where I want it too. 

I understand that excess tension when performing a skill can have a detrimental impact on my performance and because of this I have designed a simple routine for when I notice this happening. If I play a shot that I am a bit too tense I simply shake out my hand afterwards as a reminder to relax and to stay loose. I have found this routine extremely beneficial to me, but again this is something that each athlete has to design for themselves. Another way to ease tension is simply by breathing. As mentioned earlier, focusing on your breath brings your attention back to the present, but a conscious deep breath can also physically relax you if you’re nervous or tense. 

I have one more point about this fearless unwavering confidence. As an athlete and coach I’ve always been analyzing my technique. It’s normal to always want to improve, but after playing a sport for 30 years my swing is pretty much my swing. A few years back I asked a mentor of mine for some feedback on my forehand swing and he told me that I should not be worried or even thinking about my swing anymore. Once he said this I started playing more free flowing and with a lot more confidence. Instead of thinking about how I was preparing and swinging for my shots I began simply thinking about where I want the ball to go. This was one of those moments that really improved my skill level and it was all between the ears once again. Now don’t misinterpret the value of technique, it’s just sometimes it’s overrated and being too overly conscious of it might just be what is holding you back. 

Questions to consider…

1. Are you afraid of making errors?
2. Do you tense up during pressure times of a match? 
3. Do you play to win or not to lose?
4. How does your most recent success impact your current confidence? 
5. What is your self-talk like when things aren’t going their best? Is it helpful or damaging? 
6. Do you use a conscious deep breath as a part of any of your routines?

Time To Make Some Notes About How To Play More Confident, Free Flowing and Positively 

• In the space below write out a detailed (it can be short and precise) routine that will help you relax and remove unwanted tension during competition.

My Removing Unwanted Tension Routine

I hope you enjoyed this section. I'd appreciate any feedback you may have. My email is info@SeriousSquash.com

The Tenaciousness Of Miguel Rodriguez

At the Canadian Junior Nationals recently I was talking with another about the future of Canadian squash. He said he wanted the Canadian flag to represent a specific trait at international competitions just like Egypt, England and France does. Canada is such a large, spread out country and quite diverse in ethnicity and the style of squash we play and our taught. My comment was that we had to be know for giving it absolutely everything we have. Not all of our national team members are going to have the shots and fluidity of the Egyptians or move as powerful as the French do, but we can always, and I believe must be willing to outwork our opponent.

See effort and sheer tenaciousness is something that I believe Canadians would stand behind and something that is needed to be successful at the highest level in squash. This is the exact trait I would say that Rodrigues displays each and every time he steps on court. Rodriguez also hails from a country which lacks depth of professional squash players, yet he has managed to find his way right to the very top of the heap and it was his passion and effort that brought him to where he is this day and allowed him to capture his first British Open championship.

When I watched the final of the men's British Open this past weekend I couldn't help but admire Rodriguez's tenaciousness. He dived at least 9 or 10 times and not once in the entire match did he ever give up on a ball, or appear down on himself. This is why he's always a crowd favourite and so fun to watch. You think all pro squash players would have these attributes, but it's not true. When many players get way down in a game or a match, the often believe that they are too far out of position or behind on the scoreboard. When this happens they will go down without too much of a fight because they either have lost hope or are being sensible and saving energy and focus for later in the match (or if the match is almost they may have given up belief that they could come back so why continue to give it all). I don't believe you can turn on and off your ability to be tenacious when it's most critical and when you have the highest odds of winning a point or match.

Rodriguez, as per usual didn't give an inch the entire final and that might have been the difference when they got to the end of the 5th game. When a game or match is only decided by a point or two and your opponent is being worn down, that extra effort you made to stay in a rally might just be what makes the difference and when it happens on the grandest of stages it shows us all just how important this vital quality is to winning squash at the highest level.

Sure Rodriguez has excellent ball control and has become smarter with his shot selection over the years and these traits no doubt helped him win this prestigious title, but I felt it was deserved because he absolutely never gives up, ever, ever, ever! That doesn't mean he's the best player, or doesn't lose, but it does always make him a pest and an extremely tough defeat. As a coach this is what we always look for most and admire in our students. There are many highly technically skilled players who have never had such great success as Rodriguez and I think that's why we all were cheering for him to pull it off on Sunday.


Also being one of the smaller guys on tour it's motivating for all the kids (and adults too!) out there who are shorter than their peers. It shows that heart really can be more of a weapon than skill, genes or any other trait which we don't always have control over. ElShorbagy gave a tremendous effort too and appeared to be running on fumes for half of the match so I feel like it's appropriate to commend him on his effort. But he's #1 in the world and has won so many titles and he's also a big strong guy, so I was very happy to see the underdog, Rodriguez capture his first World Series Title and such a historic one at that.


Over the past few years we've had very few shocking champions in the mens' game besides when Ashour disappears with injuries and comes back months later to win a title. But we know that the major events are mostly contested and won by the guys at the top of the ranks. When Rosner won the Tournament of Champions we were all shocked, but he is still a top ranked guy and has pushed and defeated most of the top guys at some point in time. Rodriguez was unseeded and although he was ranked as high as #4 a couple of years ago, he had a super tough draw including Ashour in the first round and Farag in the quarters. I don't know what his career records were against those two, but I imagine they were not too good. So it was really great to see him and Kandra both have phenomenal and unexpected results. I love watching the best players play, but I also don't want the head to head results to always be the same.

This is why they play the game; because anything can happen if you give it a shot, give it your all and have faith in your ability. It doesn't mean you are going to win every time you step out on court, but you will give yourself your best shot, regardless of where you're from, your stature, your draw and your previous results against certain players. If there's one thing I'd like to point out to the kids I work with from Rodriguez it's definitely the tenaciousness and passion he has for the game. Goliath doesn't always win, even when he's won countless times before so step into the ring swinging and play to win. And finally, remember that being fancies is a trait that we can all possess, it's a mindset and something that you have to look at yourself hard in the mirror and ask yourself the hard questions. If you don't know if you posses it just ask some of your opponents, they most definitely will know.