How difficult is it to become a top junior athlete?

How difficult is it to become a junior athlete at the international level?

In opposition sports where you fight directly against another opponent it is very difficult, because beyond the sporting skills and the physical skills, the mental element is what determines success.

By this I do not mean that there is a mental prevalence over the other two components, but that without mental guidance and with a reduced degree of agonism it will not be possible for the athlete to express his sporting and motor skills.

In opposition sports speed and precision are two inseparable aspects of performance. It is clear that those who train to combine these two characteristics together run a greater risk of making mistakes, but another option is not possible. If you slow down too much you become predictable and the lack of precision means that you’ll throw shots randomly.

Training on these two aspects, also involves working mentally to maintain a high level of confidence even if at first you will make more mistakes. Maintaining a high level of confidence, however, will allow you to persevere with this type of training and, recover quickly from mistakes and compete with greater conviction.