"T" Characteristics of Elite Athletes

Well coincidentally today is Tax day here in the USA, and while that is one thing that most elite athletes do have in common, that they pay alot in taxes, it is however not one of the characteristics I'm going to talk about. I'm going to talk about Talent, first and foremost. There is this presumption that all elite are elite only because of talent. While it is true that all of the elite are blessed with some rather freakish genetics athletically, it is not this talent that puts them in the stratosphere of athletics. There are plenty of very talented athletes who are bagging groceries rather than bagging gold medals or world championships. What makes the elite different is that they actually have the ability to withstand great amounts of pain and frustration in order to practice the necessary skills. Which puts that athletic talent to use to make them successful. That follows along right into the second trait which is toughness, it is not how tough you are, it is how long you can be tough that sets them apart. I know that mental toughness gets alot of play these days especially in the people who are looking for a short cut to the actual job of doing the work. It is really about physical toughness that is where you learn to become mentally tough. A great ball coach in the 60's had a great quote that went something like this " Fatigue makes cowards of us all" that says about all that is necessary about being tough, you become resilient and tough through the amount of hard physical training you can endure.