A Comparative Analysis of Three Levels (High School, College, Professional) of Coaches' Perceptions of Their Athletes' Self-Efficacy and Confidence

Abstract

The longstanding question within sports and baseball is what separates the good athletes from the great ones. The purpose of this study was to look at the role self-efficacy and self-confidence play in the success of athletes. This study was solely based on the coaches’ perspective of their athletes. Three coaches who coach at different levels (high school, college, professional) were interviewed for this study. All of these coaches have a proven track record for success and have had the opportunity to work with thousands of players. These coaches, along with what research suggests, give us an interesting perspective on what separates good from great high school, college, and professional baseball players. Although self-efficacy and self-confidence are important, there are other factors that contribute to the success of athletes at each level respectively.