Overview
The first book to gather firsthand accounts of successful practices, and thinking habits, of sports legends and super-athletes—from across sports including football, baseball, basketball, boxing, golf, car-racing, and swimming—this work holds lessons that can power not only athletic success, but winning in any daily challenges of life or work. The result of years of research, Psychology of Champions offers the very personal words of star athletes who explain how they overcame such obstacles as fear, discouragement, and anxiety, and were able to move on to success. Each story—including from those of baseball great Ted Williams, basketball star Michael Jordan, football's famed Deion Sanders, and dozens more from across sports —is unique. Yet, the authors determine that, when all is said and done, the overriding variables accounting for the greatest success fall into three categories: motivation, confidence, and concentration. Barrell and Ryback spell out the rules for such success after each section in this absorbing book. The result is a book that not only entertains and educates us with firsthand accounts of ever-popular sports heroes, but also instructs athletes, amateur or professional, and arguably anyone with a goal to achieve in work or life. In-the-moment accounts reveal just what to do in various critical periods of sports competition—from being at bat in baseball, to making an instantaneous decision as a quarterback, firing the winning basket in the dying moments of a game, or launching the winning move in boxing or judo. Barrell and Ryback draw the lessons together in what they term The Focus Edge mindset. That mindset—and this book— says one former Olympian, take greatness and make it accessible to you and me.
Full Product Details
Author: James J. Barrell ,
David Ryback
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Imprint: Praeger Publishers Inc
Dimensions:
Width: 15.60cm
, Height: 2.50cm
, Length: 23.50cm
Weight: 0.539kg
ISBN: 9780313354366
ISBN 10: 0313354367
Pages: 240
Publication Date: 30 June 2008
Recommended Age: From 7 to 17 years
Audience:
General/trade
,
General
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active
Availability: Manufactured on demand
We will order this item for you from a manufactured on demand supplier.
Reviews
This exciting book will have great value for sports fans, and for anyone interested in becoming a winner in his or her chosen profession, and in life itself. Because I have followed college and professional sports closely for several decades, I have wondered--many times--how and why superstars separate themselves from the pack. This book provides vital, easy-to-emulate answers. Fortunately, the book draws its findings from primary sources--superlative athletes in a cross-section of sports. Also, the authors avoid clinical psychological jargon. The writing style is clear, yet compelling. My prediction: Those who read this book and apply its findings will benefit from Psychology of Champions, whatever their activity might be. -Bill Lampton, Ph.D., Author of The Complete Communicator
This how-to guide to performance is based on extensive in-depth interviews with some of the most successful athletes in various sports. Barrell and Ryback had access to championship-level athletes and used information gleaned from those individuals to develop a psychological training technique they call 'focus edge mindset.' Recommended. * Choice *
Author Information
James J. Barrell, Ph.D., is a professor, researcher, and consultant. With more than 25 years experience as a consultant and human factor specialist for professional sports organizations and athletes, Barrell's affiliations have included the San Francisco Giants, San Francisco 49ers, and the Orlando Magic. He has also worked individually with numerous athletes in the NFL, NBA, Major League Baseball, golf, tennis, track, car racing, and professional boxing. His most recent successes include consulting on performance enhancement with the coaching staff of the University of Florida athletic teams, playing an integral role in supporting the Gators in their 2006 and 2007 NCAA championships. As an educator, Barrell has been affiliated with the University of Florida, University of West Virginia, Stanford Research Institute International, Medical College of Virginia, and the National Institutes of Health. David Ryback, Ph.D., is a board-certified psychologist consulting under the banner of EQ Associates International, of Atlanta, Georgia. He is the author of numerous books, more than 60 journal articles, and book reviews in publications including Psychology Today. An active member of the National Speakers Association, Ryback is a former columnist for the association's national magazine, Speaker. A former lecturer and professor at the University of Maryland, Georgia State University and Emory University, Ryback consults on issues of success in sports, business, and leadership skills.
