Sport consists of statistics which can explain the fitness and technical expertise of an athlete, rather than the quality of the game and performance. As sport psychologist I want to give some numbers to highlight what needs to be done to aspire to build a winning mentality :
- 3 – are the keys to success : commitment and dedication, family and friends, excellent coaches.
- 4 – are the basic psychological skills: learning from experience, relaxation, positive self-talk and mental repetition.
- 6 – are the stages of the athlete’s career: fun, moving, learn to train, train to train, learn to compete, learn how to win, retirement and career transition.
- 7 – advanced psychological skills: goal setting, stress management, concentration, race management, performance evaluation, management of extra-sport life, coach -athlete relationship.
- 700 – are the hours of training of a junior athlete.
- 1,200 – are the hours of annual training of top athlete.
- 10,000 – are the hours needed to become expert as athlete.
- many thousands – are the mistakes to accept.
