What are Your Thoughts About Arrogance in Tennis (Sports)?

I was watching the US Open yesterday and the commentators were talking about the important of ‘good’ arrogance to successful tennis players. Lots of undefined language in that conversation. What does arrogance mean? How do we define a successful athlete? While I would agree that a good-great athlete needs a high level of confidence. What does that look like and how does confidence differ from arrogance?

Let’s start by looking at some dictionary definitions:

Arrogance: overbearing pride evidenced by a superior manner toward inferiors.
Arrogant: arrogant – having or showing feelings of unwarranted importance out of overbearing pride.
Confidence: feeling like you can meet the task at hand.
Successful: having succeeded or being marked by a favorable outcome.
The definition of arrogance or arrogant do not look like anything my athletes are interested in attaining. Confidence is a state that athletes need to be successful. The definition for successful is interesting. What is a favorable outcome (winning?) and how is that defined?

I’ve had so many elite athletes feel like they needed to build confidence. They have confidence and a higher level than most of us but not the level they feel they need to be at the height of their game. Every conversation that I’ve had with an elite athlete who’s wanted to build confidence goes something like this: I want to build my confidence but I don’t want to be arrogant or cocky (and by the way I find it highly respective [in a way] that elite athletes fear tipping to the side of arrogant or cocky). So what’s the difference?

Here’s what I think.Confidence is on a continuum: at one end we have ‘not confident’ and at the other end ‘totally confident’ with everything in between (that’s another conversation). Total confidence is feeling like you can do it. There’s no hesitation. Everything that could be done was done and there’s no worries, doubts or fears. In your head, you talk to yourself and you talk to others in a confidently, positive way. You walk tall with confidence. When you are totally confident you believe you are as good as anyone out there and that you have 100% chance to be successful.

Arrogance (being cocky) is over inflating your confidence. You talk and act above feeling like you can meet the task at hand. You talk smack about your ability and others supposed lack of ability to make yourself feel better.You might be saying to yourself, isn’t that being overconfident? 🙂 I think being overconfident is different than arrogance. The dictionary defines is as ‘excessive confidence’. That seems very different than the definition of arrogance and might be better suited to what the commentators at the US Open are talking about.

So which is it? Do you need confidence or arrogance as an athlete? What are you thoughts?

Think of someone who you think is arrogant. What is it about them that makes them seem arrogant? Think of someone you know who’s confident. What is it about them that gives you the impression that the person is confident? What’s the difference between the two?

Happy end of summer!

Dr. Michelle

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