Excellence

Rowden December 2020

Excellence is not the result of some gene you were born with, some great talent or skill you possess, which you never had to work for; though some athletes do have some marginal physical or mental advantages, better stamina, faster reactions, bigger size, more explosive speed, higher level of concentration, the list can be quite extensive.

The clue is in what Jesse Owen's coach said about him in the 1950's. 'He has probably the greatest athletic talent any coach has ever seen and would have been world champion in some events had he been coached by the local postman. In May 1935 he broke or equalled six World Records in less than one hour. He broke world records in events in which he never normally competed. But it was never the talent which produced such excellence; it was the approach to training, the dedication and work-rate. Jesse would still be out on the track training when everyone else was in the showers and finished for the day!’
To achieve real excellence is never about talent alone, it's about ATTITUDE, how you approach your sport, what time and effort you put in, about who you listen to and how to filter and analyse what you hear to make the best use of it. It's also, whether you understand it or not, about you controlling and developing you in the best way for you, you can't reach the dizzy heights by copying others or working to somebody else's program.