The importance of confidence and spreading it

The definition of confidence is as follows (with thanks to Wikipedia): Generally described as a state of being certain either that a hypothesis or prediction is correct or that a chosen course of action is the best or most effective.

How is confidence mitigated? If we take the definition above and go the other way, the quickest way to retard confidence is through doubt and indecision. Any person who has ever tried to do anything will know both of these feelings, since they have a massive impact upon your chances of success.

The reason I mention confidence is because of it’s importance to the team environment and obviously to the individual. When the Stormers signed Jaque Fourie and Bryan Habana, some questioned the idea of bringing in two backs when the forwards have always been the greater area of concern.

The reasoning behind their acquisition, while both being world class players, always intrigued me. What would they add to the set up? I got my answer during the start of the second half at Newlands during a Super 14 game earlier this year.

A colleague of mine was chatting to the Rapport‘s Louis de Villiers. Upon over hearing their conversation, I chimed in with the observation that neither Habana or Fourie had seen the ball that much during the first off. De Villiers then made the excellent point, since I hadn’t considered it in depth before, that while neither Habana or Fourie were playing a direct role in the course of that particular game, the confidence they gave to the players on their outside and inside was important if not more so than getting involved in the game themselves.

His point is proven by the fact that players such as Gio Aplon, Sireli (of all people considering his nightmare of a season last year), Joe Pietersen and Juan de Jongh have been playing some of the best rugby of their careers since the arrival of the two Springboks. With so much confidence in the backline, including Peter Grant, it trickles down to the forwards who will work that much harder to supply clean ball since they will back their greyhound colleagues to put points on the board. Very simple, yet so important. You can add that with their presense and reputation, they commit extra players to the tackle and create more space for their colleagues that aren’t being watched so carefully. One domino, two domino …

In Pretoria, Gerhard van der Heerver appears to be another diamond, but it must give him an extra 20 to 30% to play with a forward pack as imposing as the Bulls, along with Morne Steyn and Fourie du Preez as your half-back pairing, with both players especially in combination being outstanding.

Last night’s Champions League match between Arsenal and Barcelona is another example. Lionel Messi, who arguably is the best footballer on the planet (with those wearing white shirts leading the charge from the other corner), didn’t have a great game at the Emirates. Barcelona were supurb it must be said. I can’t recall the last time a visiting team dominated the home side with so much skill and control. A statistic that underlines Barcelona’s dominance (though huge credit must be given to the Gunners for coming away with a draw): Barcelona completed over 540 passes to Arsenal’s 270-odd, and had 62% of the possession over the length of the game.

He didn’t score, but with his presense on the field, the Arsenal defenders would’ve been watching Messi closely, negating though not intentionally, the attention paid to another player who scored for the first time against English opposition in Europe after 11 attempts, Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

Those who follow cricket can see the same affect when Hashim Amla or AB de Villiers bats with Jacques Kallis. All three are elite Test players, but it must help the younger two of the three to be safe in the knowledge that one of the greatest all rounders to have ever played the game, and certainly the best batsman produced by this country since re-admission (they both have the talent to match him) is waiting at the other end for when the strike is rotated. The same goes with fast bowlers.

It isn’t a coincidence that fast bowlers are also seen to hunt in pairs. Example: Donald and Pollock. In Australia, Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne were pretty devastating on their own, but when they bowled in combination, their overall average was even lower than their career average. While it can be said that it is about creating pressure as much as being confident, it must give a player some peace of mind to have best to have played the game (McGrath and Warne are both up there, if not more in Warne’s case considering how he re-ignited the world’s passion for leg-spin, though credit should also go to his predeccessor, the Pakistani great Abdul Qadir).

Confidence in sport is everything. The Reds have come out of no where to be a formidable force in the Super 14 this season. Manchester City and Tottenham are vying for the Champions League place once reserved for one of the old ‘Big 4’, and JP Duminy is a batsman that needs a dose of it (fingers crossed on that one…he is too good a player not too comeback from his current slump).

SA sport is blessed at the moment too have a lot of kudos flying around, and with South Africans genrally being a postive bunch of people, regardless of the problems this country faces, who knows: Bafana Bafana, the great question mark of June and July this year, might also surprise. Carlos Alberto Parreira seems confident, so maybe we should be too?