The Influence of Self-Confidence on Athletics in Male Collegiate Lacrosse Players

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to examine the relationship of certain variables, which consist of Course Load, GPA/Academic Standing, Study Skills, Time Management, Player-Coach Relations, Coaching Communication, Team Chemistry, Reps at Practice, Team Discipline, Competitiveness at Practice, Depth Chart Standing, Team Record, Individual Recognition, Overall Preparation, Physical Conditioning, Stick Work, Playbook Mastery, Scouting Report Implementation, Injury, Rest, Nutrition, Social Distractions, Family Support, Parental Involvement, Sense of Independence, Substance Use & Abuse, and the athletic confidence of NCAA Division I and Division III male lacrosse players. One team from each Division completed a questionnaire that consisted of 33 questions: 26 of the 33 questions used a self-anchoring, 10-point scale to measure the athletes’ self-defined levels of confidence for each category. Using the Spearman Correlation Coefficient Test, none of the 26 variables tested achieved the level of statistical significance on athletic self-confidence. However, this analysis did find a negative relationship between injury and an athlete’s social confidence as well as a positive relationship between family support and academic confidence. The study’s samples of the Division I and Division III men’s lacrosse players in the NCAA are small, so a larger sample size would need to be conducted to increase validity; and more importantly, to determine if a different design beyond a correlation study might suggest why these relationships exist.