MAKING MENTAL PREPARATION A PRIORITY


chological factors such as self confidence, motivation, concentration and emotional control. We haven’t seen any Olympic ath- letes who succeed without doing the physi- cal and technical work, even though we have worked with some of the most men- tally talented athletes in the world. The re- ality is that even an exceptionally mentally talented athlete who has not prepared well physically loses confidence and is vulnerable in competition. The best and easiest confi- dence is that which comes from the knowl- edge that athletes are as prepared, or more prepared, than their competitors, and that they are physically capable of a winning per- formance. On the other hand, you may have worked


S


with a number of athletes whose coaches called them the most talented athlete on the team, yet these athletes never achieved in- ternational success. These physically gifted athletes were not able to manage the mental demands of their sport. Some athletes can’t handle the focus and discipline of training, while others can’t handle the pressure and stress of competition. Athletes lacking in either of these areas may succeed at times, but they will not succeed consistently. How important do you think psychological


factors are to the success of your athletes, as compared with physical factors? In short, how much of sport do you think is mental, and how much is physical?


% physical % psychological


Yogi Berra is often quoted as saying,


“Baseball is 90 percent mental; the other half is physical.” The numbers don’t add up, but his point is well taken. Like Yogi Berra, you may believe that mental factors play a big role in sport. Most coaches agree. You’ve probably watched races where athletes make clutch decisions in the closing seconds to propel themselves to victory — or give up under pressure. Triathlon performance depends on a va- riety of physical skills, or attributes, ranging


(continued on next page)


By Hector L. Torres, USA Triathlon Level II certified coach


port success is determined in part by physical conditioning, skill and prepa- ration. But it is also influenced by psy-


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