This study identified the sources and types of confidence salient to 14 (7 male, 7 female) successful World Class athletes. Nine sources of confidence were identified: Preparation, performance accomplishments, coaching, innate factors, social support, experience, competitive advantage, self-awareness, and trust. A testament to the multi-dimensional nature of sport confidence, six types of sport confidence were also identified: skill execution, achievement, physical factors, psychological factors, superiority to opposition, and tactical awareness. Gender was related to both the sources of confidence and the subsequent types of confidence experienced by the athletes. For example, females placed more importance on good personal performances than males who derived confidence from winning. Results were discussed in the context of previous sport confidence literature and implications for sport psychology and coaching practices were drawn.

In this study, we examined the role of confidence in relation to the cognitive, affective, and behavioural responses it elicits, and identified the factors responsible for debilitating confidence within the organizational subculture of world-class sport. Using Vealey's (2001) integrative model of sport confidence as a broad conceptual base, 14 athletes (7 males, 7 females) were interviewed in response to the research aims. Analysis indicated that high sport confidence facilitated performance through its positive effect on athletes' thoughts, feelings, and behaviours. However, the athletes participating in this study were susceptible to factors that served to debilitate their confidence. These factors appeared to be associated with the sources from which they derived their confidence and influenced to some extent by gender. Thus, the focus of interventions designed to enhance sport confidence must reflect the individual needs of the athlete, and might involve identifying an athlete's sources and types of confidence, and ensuring that these are intact during competition preparation phases

The 'yips' is a phenomenon that affects individuals who perform finely controlled motor skills. The result is involuntary movements that occur throughout the execution of a skill. A qualitative study was conducted to identify the psychological characteristics of the 'yips' experience in cricket bowlers. Eight bowlers of varying ability were interviewed about their thoughts, emotions and feelings before, during and after their initial experience of the 'yips'. After the interviews, inductive content analysis revealed 15 general dimensions that were descriptive of the overall 'yips' experience: conditions before the initial experience, the first experience, anxiety, emotions and feelings, conscious control of movement, self-presentational concerns, inappropriate focus, negative thinking, future performances, reasons for not bowling, bowling experiences after the initial experience, the difference between the 'yips' and bowling badly, characteristics of good bowling performances, personal characteristics and personal explanations for why the 'yips' were experienced. We conclude that the experience of bowling with the 'yips' shows many characteristics similar to a severe form of choking.

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There is a lack of literature documenting strengths-based approaches in sport psychology. This study explored how a super-strengths approach has been implemented by sport psychologists (n=7) and coaches (n=8), with UK elite athletes. Findings were categorized into three general dimensions: defining super-strengths, identification methods, and phases of development. Super-strengths were defined as a strategy for performance, utilizing a potential world's-best resource to gain a competitive edge. Identification methods were subjective (e.g., asking/observing athletes) and objective (e.g., performance analysis). Participants emphasized three development phases: preparation, adaptation and monitoring. Findings offer considerations for implementing a strengths-based approach and future research.