- "The athlete 'meets the sport' at the coach, and that effect is cumulative over time."
- No right way exists in coaching or psychological preparation. Use your own way.
- Attitude makes the difference.
- Highly successful people bring an attitude to the starting line.
- Work Ethic---Physical Preparation---Attitude = RACING!
- Focus = The ability to race.
- Do you train to train or train to race?
- Commonalities in Elite Athletes:
- FUN: They 'play' at their work.
- PERSEVERANCE: They accept 'deferred gratification' (The opposite of the 90's attitude of 'entitlement'.)
- MENTAL IMAGERY: They use it along with visualization.
- PATIENCE: You don't always do your best.
- CONFIDENCE: The most confident athlete has the best chance.
- DREAM GOALS: Although elite athletes have 'dream goals', they remain focused on the competitive moment.
- Obstacles to elite performance include Injuries, financial constraints, sex-role stereotypes, socialization problems (you can't win!), local issues, and composure.
- Advice.
- Have fun.
- Prepare diligently.
- Have an extreme work ethic.
- Follow your dream.
- "Critical Zone" concept of Racing.
- Defined as a time in the race where you are required to produce a physiological response in order to win the race or perform your best.
- How we are prepared emotionally and physically determines our response at the "critical zone" of racing.
- See the obstacle as a positive experience.
- Get involved with the process of training, not the outcome.
- The best athletes set clear daily goals for practice.
- Great things happen by design.
- The American "middle class mentality" dictates there will "always be another time" to race or do well. This is why Africans do so well in big meets. It is quite possible there IS NOT another time for them! Americans are competitively lazy and race ineffectively since the races have no meaning for them. They DO have meaning for Africans.
- Africans are COMMITTED. Committed to training, racing, and committed without hesitation.
- American racers need to accept that at the "critical zone" we have to be prepared through training and emotional work to answer the challenge.
- "Critical Zone" training is primarily physiological and not mental. It is a concept of dealing with pressure of the race events through physiological response.
- Americans should race 'intuitively'. It requires a leap of faith built upon tough training.
Related Issues
- The closer to a big event in racing, the more simplistic your life and plans should become.
- The most critical time to learn and develop as a world class runner is immediately after a big race.
- It is best to coach every athlete as if he or she were an Olympian.
- Attitude precedes performance.
- Let the overmotivated-underachiever know that quality is preferable to quantity.
- The "achievement trap" states that as you get better, people 'raise the bar' of athletic standards.
- Confidence is attacked by a fear of failure OR success.
- Work with athletes to help them cope with parents. Pressures, and the well-meaning but uninformed parent can be challenging.
- Overcome the "gifted" label. If an athlete is "gifted" they often have an undermined work ethic, i.e. the "only ones who work hard are those who AREN'T gifted."
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