Sport Performance

For an athlete to reach his or her peak performance, he is required to be at the top of his game in every aspect of his training. He will need to physically fit, have superior confidence, and have excellent psychological preparation. It is not sufficient for the athlete to have these skills independently, but to be able to link them together; to incorporate each aspect into his performance. There are 8 characteristics that play a role in peak performance. The athlete needs to be:

1) Mentally relaxed

2) Physically relaxed

3) Confident

4) Focused on the present

5) Highly energized

6) In control/optimistic/looking forward to a challenge

7) Extraordinary awareness

8) In the zone

Without these it will be impossible for the athlete to compete at his best.

Psychologically the athlete can tweak his or her performance to perfection. We like to refer to the three phases PST (Psychological Skill Training). First there is the educational phase; this is the teaching of the particular skill, it could be a relaxation technique, or something of this sort. The acquisition phase then follows; the athlete try's to implement his new skill into his performance. It then becomes part of his routine, and the athlete begins to use the technique without committing special attention to it. It is highly recommended to do this in the off-season, so it does not hinder the athlete's performance in the games that count. There is no need to spend hours at a time trying to perfection the skill in one day. New skills take time to learn, only around 15 minutes per day is required.

The article "Power