Proper training in itself will not ensure success, time should be given to the study and planning for building proper attitudes and psychological preparation in your philosophies. The most crucial consideration is seeking excellence. Competitions prior to Championships are stepping stones, not an end in themselves.

In preparing your mental approach to your competing you must instill important characteristics

1. Patience: Performance improvement is a gradual process. It cannot be hurried, and cannot be over done. An ancient philosopher said "You will break the bow if you always keep it stretched" . Take time therefore, to build into your programs, and take a recuperation week after every cycle of training.
2. Confidence: Lies in the saying " The Mind Controls the Body".
3. Enthusiasm: is that vital quality that arouses one to action. All champions are surrounded by day to day enthusiasm.
4. Persistence: is the power that provides amazing achievement.
5. Desire & Determination: Your ability is closely related to your desire. It is no accident that champions are the ones who have paid the greatest price.
6. Positive Attitude: A man is product of his own thoughts.

Goal	Time span
Immediate	Hourly
Intermediate	Weekly, Monthly
Ultimate	Seasonally, Yearly

Goals should be made to allow for success along the way - an athlete cannot jump to ultimate goals without intermediate steps they must be in sequence to allow for achievement and building of confidence. Success has nothing to do with prestige symbols but rather with creative accomplishment. The business of becoming an athlete goes on for a long time so it is not surprising that only a few stick it out.

It will be the athletes self-image that sets the boundaries of their accomplishment. If an athlete pictures themselves defeated that alone will make victory impossible. If on the other hand, they picture themselves victorious, this will contribute immeasurably to success. The athlete must understand they will endure hardships, setbacks and defeats. In fact you have to suffer to get where you want to be. Negatives should be discarded and success's are to be remembered and dwelled upon. You must refuse to recall your bad competitions, not look upon them as they were, but as they can be. A successful competitor does not ask "Can I do Better?" but rather "How can I do Better?". It is how you think when you lose which determines how long it will be until you win. There is no time or energy to waste being discouraged, salvage something from the setback and proceed to Action. Work to build a positive self-image, Plan for success. Don't accept a poor workout or conduct that will allow for a dent in the self-image or affect your confidence.

You must believe you can succeed (faith moves mountains). To accomplish anything you must first believe you can. The size of your success is determined by the size of your belief.

Eliminate excuses and rationalizations; ifs, wont's, don'ts, can'ts, coulds, shoulds and buts. Each time you rationalize it becomes easier the next time, it eats away at your pride and confidence. You lose the will to win. Almost all alibis and excuses are lies.

Try not to quit in races unless accidentally injured, but fighting through the pain barrier is a positive. Pain is a negative-no one likes it, but it must be accepted. Pain is by no means a completely physical term, it has to be dealt with mentally. There is no immunity to pain, the athlete must learn to defeat pain and discomfort mentally.

Stresses are necessary - side ache cramps sore muscles, colds, headaches, etc. are normality's of your discomforts.

To be successful you must believe you can. There is an old saying "The right attitude and one leg, will beat the wrong attitude and two legs every time." Eliminate the negatives, accentuate the positive. The only difference between stumbling blocks and stepping stones is the way you see them. Capacity is a state of mind, how much one can do depends on how much one thinks they can do. The greatest aim of education is not knowledge but ACTION. You should seek excellence, good athletes are good every day, not once a week.

The coach's role in goal setting is only an advisor. The athlete must set the goal, be master of his own ship. The coach only says these are realistic goals. Put a little pressure on yourself - develop your capabilities. Personal success is to motivate yourself and thereby motivate others.

In closing, there is no formula for success. Attitude is the final determiner. I hope I have stuck a chord of enthusiasm for your upcoming season. Appreciate the challenge of training and the adventure of competing. There can however be only one winner in every competition, BUT everyone else who completes their task is not a loser if they gave of their best on the day.

Above all, enjoy competing!

• Satisfaction
• Experiences
• bonds of friendship with teammates and competitors

  Will be the priceless rewards of your committed endeavors.

  ©Philip Oliver

  Colwyn Bay Athletics Club.