Originally Posted by
Baby Puke
Just found this, not sure of it's been posted before (apologies if so), but this is a pretty well done doc on Chris Hoy and the mental side of sport. Cool insights on his (and the world's) final Olympic gold in the kilo.
Chris Hoy documentary
This is really interesting to watch. I clicked the link to start it then saw that it was an hour and thought, "I'm not gonna watch a 1 hour youtube video...", an hour later here I am.
It goes over some basic maxims about how to be a top athlete and what's involved. There are Olympians in the video (Andy Murray, Lenox Lewis, etc...) but I believe that many junior, masters, and non-international elites can relate as well to the sacrifices...they just get paid less
I really thought it was interesting that Hoy and Rebecca Adlington (Britan's most accomplished simmer ever) both mention taking advantage of the advice of Sports Psychiatrists/Psychologists. When talking about preparations for training and competition, she says, "I started working with a sports psychologist. Which, for me, I couldn't have survived the 4 years without. I didn't kind of realize how important it was." The Team GB Sports Psychiatrist Dr. Steve Peters is interviewed as well. He briefly mentions his program.
I think Sports Psychology is much more than "marginal gains" area for top athletes. A good coach often fills this role. But, more often than not, coaches do not.