The Secret to Success in Sport is…..

Published by Wayne Goldsmith on September 26, 2024

Want to know the Secret to Success in Sport?

There is one..there really is..and here it is for free.

I recently wrote a post called “The Passion to Prepare = > The Potential to Perform”.

In the post I suggested that:

Without doubt, when I work with coaches and teams, this one issue dominates all others: “how do I ensure every player in my team is preparing – consistently – to the best of their ability – so that their passion to prepare is equal to or greater than their potential to perform”.

The Common Theme:

Look at all the books on the market on the topic of “winning” or “leadership” or “success”: there is a common theme running through every one of them.

What is it you ask?

The common theme in all those self-help books is…making the most of your opportunities: being all that you can be!

This slide will help to illustrate the point a little better:

The natural talent of the athlete – their potential to perform – that’s a matter of genetics and their choice of parents.

The passion to prepare to their full potential….that’s a coaching issue.

And that’s the greatest coaching challenge of all.

As a coach, are you certain that your programs, your structures, your systems, your methods and your practices engage the athlete – mind and body so that every session – every day is completed to their full potential?

This is the secret to success in sport: and the funny thing is….you knew it was all the time!

Didn’t you???

Wayne Goldsmith

Sports Coaching

10000 Hours to Make a Sporting Champion?

10000 hours to create a world class athlete. I don't think so. Being the best is not about what you do...it's how you do it. It's understanding the difference between "content" and "intent" and that the attitude of an athlete to the way they train, prepare, compete and recover is what really makes a difference. This article and podcast challenges the 10000 hours concept and suggests that quality coaching and athlete engagement is what matters. Don't count the training time....make the training time count.

Performance Psychology

The Passion to Prepare = or > The Potential to Perform

Sporting talent? Who needs it? There are tens of millions of people all over the world with the talent - the potential to be outstanding athletes. However, without the passion to prepare - a passion which equals or exceeds their level of talent, these people remain largely undiscovered and their potential unrealised. This article presents the view that regardless of the level of talent an athlete possesses, without the commitment, dedication, motivation and passion to prepare to the limits of that potential, they can not succeed at the highest level.

Performance Psychology

Motivation Mistakes

https://youtu.be/7JFJqsan_dQ Motivation Mistakes. I often get asked to do motivation talks to athletes, coaches, teams and organisations all over the world. I am happy to accept the professional fees but….to be honest: Motivation Talks Do Read more…

6 Comments

Jeremy Pryce · October 26, 2010 at 10:26 pm

Amen. Harnessing potential. That´s the challange us coaches face!

Cheers!

Jer

Wayne Goldsmith · October 27, 2010 at 7:20 am

Thanks JP.

Everyone knows this….but only the great coaches and athletes live in consistently – hence the reason they are great.

My dad loved this phrase: “knowing something and not acting on it is the same as not knowing it”.

So true in high performance sport.

Everyone knows the “secret” to success”: but about 1% actually live it.

Jeremy · November 2, 2010 at 7:53 am

Wayne,
Once again you rock! I have found that one of the biggest reasons many coaches struggle with this is due to what I call a lack of ‘INNERGY- the mental fuel’.

As you have pointed out numerous times in your articles, most coaches will RELY on their team talent and focus on the X’s and O’s. Why? It takes a ton of work on the coaches on inner awareness and self-improvement in order to be able to help others realize their own potential!

Hey it’s like I say…if it’s all about YOU, than you’re not a coach!

Wayne Goldsmith · November 2, 2010 at 10:42 am

Thanks Jeremy.

Like many people I regularly check out all the Self-help books on sale and without doubt, they all push the same message: the same message that everyone knows is the Secret to Success: be all you can be by making the most of every opportunity.

Michael J Todd · November 3, 2010 at 1:36 pm

I try to teach this to my team, and especially to my daughter. Practice the same way you are going to play in a game and always give 110%.

Wayne Goldsmith · November 3, 2010 at 2:53 pm

That’s fantastic. What a great lesson to teach.

Thanks,