The Making of Champions: Roots of the Sporting Mind (Hardback)

There is no longer any doubt as to the significance of the mind in modern day sporting competition. As the legendary baseball player Yogi Berra has exclaimed, 'ninety percent of this game is mental!the other half is physical'. These feats, alongside a greater awareness of the brain's importance in all activities, has meant that in recent times the psychological abilities of the world's elite athletes have become one of the most hotly discussed of topics across the sporting world. However, while for the most part we are able to quantify the physical aspects of an elite athlete's performance, such as great strength, flexibility, or stamina, frequently the same is unable to be said for the elite athlete's psychological attributes. We instinctively know that the psychology of an athlete is important for achieving success at the highest of levels, yet unfortunately, all too often, we don't know why, or indeed how, this is so. Is it a matter of superior concentration and focus, a magic 'eye' for the ball or opponent, or simply a higher threshold to hardships that allows some to break through the proverbial pain barrier? In this fascinating new book Gary Lewis examines what makes a champion mind.