In Pursuit of Excellence Book Review
...n order to help them decide what they need to do to improve. The next seven chapters then detail strategies they can apply. Strategies include: emotional control, imagery, relaxation, distraction control, simulation, and self-hypnosis. The writing style is aimed at the average athlete, who has not studied psychology. Easy to follow instructions are given, together with examples of how each technique can be applied. Each chapter provides anecdotes of athletes who have applied these techniques and succeeded in their sport. Finally, this section finishes with some general advice on how to make the techniques work, which can be summed as persisting with the technique to give it time to work. The techniques the author has chosen are all common techniques applied by athletes. None of the techniques are new or experimental. As such many of them have been investigated and seen to work in situations. However, as this book is more a “how-to” guide, the author has not gone into any of the evidence as to their effective-ness. The only evidence provided is in the anecdotal examples that he provides. The instructions provided are simple and easy to follow. No complicated terminology is used and examples are provided on how other athletes have successfully used the technique. Finally, each chapter ends with a summary of the main points, and either quotes or examples again from athletes. The chapter on self-hypnosis was written by the author’s father, who is said to be an expert in self-hypnosis and self-directed mind control. As such this chapter tends to be slightly more technical and less sport related. It is primarily focused around an individual’s belief that they “can do”. Again, the instructions are simple and easy to follow, with examples on how to apply the technique. All of the techniques recommended in this book have been chosen because the author has seen them work. As such, the author does not provide any evidence for why they work. Additionally, no recommendations are made on selecting which techniques to use; instead the reader is left to picking which techniques they think would work best. The final section, Overcoming Obstacles, covers a number of common problems that can happen to athletes. This section covers a wide area, from individual situations like overcoming panic, handling losing, and adapting to life after sport, to interpersonal situations like team harmony and problems with coaches. This section provides advice on how to handle the different problems rather than any specific techniques. Again, the author provides anecdotes on what other people have done, and practical examples of things to try. Each chapter starts off by discussing the problem, some of its causes and the possible effects. Strategies and possible ways around the problem are then discussed, with an emphasis on what the athlete can do themselves to overcome the problem. Finally, most of the chapters finish on a positive note, trying to show how the...