Why We Stopped Talking About Confidence with Pro Athletes — And What We Do Instead

About this episode

The episode discusses the importance of emotional regulation over confidence in elite athletes' performance.

Confidence is not what separates elite athletes from everyone else. We know because we've been in the room. Nickeil Alexander-Walker. Lauri Markkanen. DJ Reed. 5,300 athletes since 2015. The best in the world have the same confidence ebbs and flows as everyone else. What separates them is something the performance industry has almost completely ignored: emotional regulation. Not confidence. Not positive self-talk. Not mental toughness in the way it's usually described. In this episode of The Difference Maker Podcast, Matt and Chris Caldaroni, founders of Molliteum and performance coaches to elite professional athletes, break down why confidence is the wrong target, what emotional regulation actually is, and the exact system they use with pro athletes to build it from the ground up. You will walk away knowing: Why chasing confidence is keeping athletes stuck What emotional regulation actually looks like in high-pressure performance The system Molliteum uses with NBA, NFL, and NHL athletes to build it How to start applying this with any athlete at any level This episode is for athletes, parents, and coaches who are tired of being told to "just be more confident." There is a better…

People in this episode

Hosts: Matt Caldaroni, Chris Caldaroni

Topics covered

• emotional regulation
• confidence in sports
• performance coaching
• elite athletes
• mental toughness
• high-pressure performance

Keywords

• confidence
• emotional regulation
• performance coaching
• elite athletes
• mental toughness
• high-pressure performance

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Molliteum

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