Developing Mental Skills is What Enables Winning with Physical Skills
It appears that all elite athletes are elite as a result of their physical skills. However, elite physical skills are the norm, not the exception at the highest level of athletics. The typical elite athlete wins because of their mental edge, not because of their physical edge. As 2x NCAA wrestling champion Isaiah Martìnez suggest, working hard to develop physical skills is nothing more than an entrance fee.
Elite athletes need a mental edge in training to develop elite muscle memory. They need a mental edge in strategy to out maneuver their opponents. In addition, they need a mental edge in coping with pressure to make them clutch.
It’s a simple fact that in sports and in life, developing mental skills is what enables winning with physical skills. As a result, coaches, parents, and athletes must be more diligent in finding ways to challenge and grow mental skills than they are in challenging physical skills.