In sports, the success of an athlete does not only rely on one thing. Mental and physical preparation plays a crucial role for sport success. The outcome of a game or a match does not rely only on athlete’s physical performance but also on what he thinks. Strengthening these aspects on the athlete’s personality is paramount for his success.
Generally, the physical and mental preparedness of an athlete affects his success. Check out the different factors which are significant to sport success.
Contents
Physical Aspect
It doesn’t matter what sports you are involved, every sport has a task that involves physical action. Take a look on this factors that affect the physical aspect of a person.
- Muscular Strength
In some sports, you can exert lesser amount of strength while others sports like power lifting require higher level of muscular strength. Proper strength training is important in sport, whether it is for male or female, not only because it would be a great advantage for an athlete but it is also done to prevent injury. Moreover, strength is fundamental in all athletic physical qualities. Without or lack of it, will result to poor performance.
- Muscular Endurance
Muscular endurance is the ability of a person to perform repetitive task for a longer period of time. Sports that have greater requirement for muscular endurance are rowing, cycling, distance running and many more. Endurance is important because if strength is the entry point for a good performance, endurance is the key to continue in the game.
- Speed
Speed is not defined as how fast someone can run but in their ability to accelerate from a fixed position. Speed in an important component of physical power of an athlete. If strength is the entry point and endurance is essential to continue then speed is the one responsible to optimize strength and endurance.
- Cardiovascular Capacity
This is the ability of the heart and the lungs to function and supply oxygen-rich blood to the muscles which deliver adequate energy to move the working muscles. Any sports, for that matter, require strong cardiovascular capacity to be more efficient and functional.
Mental Aspect
An athlete mental toughness is as important as his physical power. These are some factors that affect the mental strength of an athlete.
- Analytic and Tactical Ability
The way the mental system react and evaluate situations and how it can come up with a strategic plan to overcome challenges and achieve goals is an important factor of success. When an athlete thinks strategically, this means that he understand the situation and what is happening in the match. He understands how players interact and he can think of a play that can possibly defeat the opponent. Further, he is capable of anticipating moves and reacts in the play quickly
- Confidence
This is a mental aspect which is usually perceived wrong. Most people often see this as arrogance but confidence is an important factor to improve mental capacity. This is the level of belief of an athlete to himself, his teammates and his team overall. You should not overlook this factor because oftentimes the lack of confidence is the downfall for most athletes.
- Handling Emotions
Pressure and challenges is a part of any game. The ability of an athlete to handle his emotions during pressures and changing conditions greatly affects his performance. It is important to stay focus on the game and do task befittingly to live up with the expectations and to achieve goals.
- Mental attitude
This is a mental aspect that is often overlooked. Positive thinking is another essential factor that could affect the athlete’s mental ability. Positive attitude can help an athlete visualize and achieve success. The mental attitude of an athlete most of the time affect his performance. Thinking that you cannot beat your opponent can sometimes prove you right.
Many successful athletes, including those athletes that you want to include in your fantasy league dream team, have these characteristics mentioned above. But these are just few of the factors that could affect success in sports. There are still many factors in mental and physical aspects that can be associated with sport success.
