Psychology of Champions — www.greenwood.com

Book flyer
MS Word
International
MS Word

Psychology of Champions How to Win at Sports and Life with the Focus Edge of Super-Athletes

James J. Barrell, David Ryback

Foreword by Gordie Howe

Book Code: C35436

ISBN: 0-313-35436-7

ISBN-13: 978-0-313-35436-6

DOI:

240 pages

Praeger Publishers

Publication: 6/30/2008

List Price: $44.95 (UK Sterling Price: £25.95)

Availability: In Stock

Media Type: Hardcover

Also Available: Ebook

Trim Size: 6 1/8 x 9 1/4

Subjects:

Psychology » Psychology (General)
Popular Culture » Sports

Endorsement From Joe Frazier,
Former World Boxing Champion: If you want to know "how to get the job done," read this book. Every champion has a story to tell that you can benefit from.
Endorsement From Bill Treasurer,
Author of Right Risk Former member of U.S. High Diving Team: I can't think of anyone who wouldn't benefit personally and professionally from this book. Psychology of Champions is at once insightful, entertaining and, above all, USEFUL! The lessons in this book, gleaned from interviews with over 60 superstar athletes, can be immediately applied in anyone's life. James Barrell and David Ryback have done us a great service; they've taken greatness and made it accessible to you and me. I can think of no more valuable gift.
Endorsement From Doug Smart,
Author of TimeSmart: Wow! Incredible! This book puts it all together when it comes to winning at sports or, for that matter, any competition in life. Read it and be the best you can be. Barrell and Ryback have really discovered what it takes to be a champion.
Endorsement From Bill Lampton, Ph.D.,
Author of The Complete Communicator: 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.
Endorsement From T. J. McFerrin,
Football Coach of the Year,
State of Ga. State Championship with 300 wins over 34 years: Psychology of Champions is a must read for coaches and athletes alike at all levels--high school, college, pro. James Barrell and David Ryback have taken the Focus Edge mindset that great athletes use to achieve their success and broken it down into its basics.

This book will be a tremendous asset to coaches as they bring out the potential in their "average" athletes. It is superb reading for the sports-minded layman, exploring what makes the super-athlete tick. For everyone, it offers a blueprint for maximizing success in life.
Endorsement From Kip Grosenick,
TV Producer: I love it! Plunges to the inner depths of how to succeed by talking to champions about what they know best--how to win. Here's the formula--unlocking the doors to success on the playing fieldand in life.
Endorsement From Eric deGroot,
Pres. of Global Education Matters,
Finisher of 18 marathons: A great road map for reaching the finish line as a winner.
Endorsement From Dr. Paul G. Schempp,
University of Georgia: There are three things I love about this book. First of all, it's an easy read. Second, the principles it puts forth make lots of sense and are easy to apply. Third, and most important of all, it cuts across a wide variety of sports and range of athletes. This is quite a unique feature among sports books.
Endorsement From Thomas Dougherty, M.D.,
Emory Sports Medicine Center,
Emory University, Atlanta, Ga.: Psychology of Champions is a book that is highly unique, a welcome addition to the literature of achievement and excellence in sports performance. As a sports physician who cares for athletes of all performance levels, I found the book's direct approach to understanding what it looks like when an athlete is in "the zone" simple to understand and, more important, easy to teach. This is a book I will have at my practice, and will recommend to my athletes with the utmost confidence.

Description: 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 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.

Table of Contents:

FOREWORD Gordie Howe
PREFACE
INTRODUCTION
1 What Fuels Our Fires
2 Big Goals
3 How Challenges Motivate the Super-Athlete
4 Little Goals: The Aim in Competition
5 Results of Process?
6 Comparing the Goals of Super-Athletes with Others
7 Believing in Yourself
8 What the Super-Athletes Say About Confidence
9 When Confidence is Lacking How to Build It
10 Putting Confidence to Work
11 Being in the Moment
12 What Super-Athletes Say About Concentration
13 Broad and Narrow Attention
14 Inside That Elusive Now-Zone
15 Helpful Rituals and Visualizations
16 Where it All Comes Together, Under Pressure
17 How Super-Athletes Deal with Pressure
18 Getting Rid of Your Performance Anxiety
19 The Focus Edge Formula for Dealing with Pressure
20 Applying the Focus Edge Mindset
Conclusion
Biographical Sketches

LC Card Number: 2008008015

LCC Class: GV706

Dewey Class: 796

PDF Catalogs:
Psychology Catalog 2008.pdf


All rights reserved. Copyright © 1999-2008 Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc. 88 Post Road West, Westport CT 06881, (203) 226-3571