Winning can change coach, player and team mindset from the positive drive that brought success into a negative weakness that fails to sustain further achievement.
The Olympic Games are the pinnacle sporting event for athletes, with more than 10,500 athletes competing in the Summer Games and just over 2,500 athletes in the Winter Games. At the most recent Summer Games in London, women constituted their highest percentage of participants ever, with 44.3 percent (4,751) competing for 205 national Olympic committees.
We’ve already learned that expert athletes tend to participate in many sports and activities, emphasizing deliberate play and enjoyment, until age 12. Generally, they begin to specialize, or narrow their focus, in one favored sport around age 13.
