Good and Great athletes: the difference that sets them apart

I was appointed the team sport psychologist, which accorded me a rare opportunity to meet with all athletes, coaches and managers. I watched most if not all the matches and also had sessions with all the teams before and during the games.

There is no doubt that we have talented athletes, but talent on it’s own, is not enough to make a great athlete. Most performance problems that athletes consistently struggle with are not a result of lack of talent, poor conditioning, inadequate coaching, or lack of physical skills or technical ability. When the heat of competition is turned up high, good athletes fade while great athletes win gold medals! Good athletes tend to experience runaway nervousness, intimidation, poor concentration, lack of confidence or inability to let go of mistakes or bad breaks.