"V" Characteristics of Elite Athletes

V for victorious, V for vicious, no, how about V for visual and vestibular? While those last two may not sound as sexy as victorious or vicious, the elite have better skills than most in the areas of visual and vestibular expertise. The amount of information that is gathered through the eyes is staggering, and what is even more amazing is how it all gets processed, organized and put to use to make the elite what they are. Most people assume that you are born with great visual skills or you are not. Science is now showing that not only don't you have to be born with great physical skills you don't have to be born with great visual skills either. Training is not just for the physical anymore. There are many different types of skills that relate to visual excellence. Most people just think of the obvious ones, eye or foot coordination or tracking, but there are a multitude of others, ranging from looming and peripheral awareness to vergence and dynamic visual acuity, all of which can be trained to the levels of the elite. What about the vestibular? What are vestibular skills anyway? Why balance of course. The elite all have an incredible ability to know which way they are going and which way is up. In the hierarchy of the nervous system the visual system reigns supreme followed by the vestibular system and then ultimately the proprioceptive system. The vestibular is really quite remarkable for it can detect the slightest amounts of movement in any direction and on any plane and have the body make an adjustment in order to maintain balance. Just like with the visual system most people think you must be born with great balance, not so, the vestibular system is capable of getting better and better with training. If you want to have more victories or seem a little more vicious on the field then you might want start training the V's, the visual and vestibular systems.

"U" Characteristics of Elite Athletes

The elite athlete is the is the ultimate competitor. And by ultimate I mean that they love being in the competitive arena, the rushes of adrenalin, the ups and downs of the battle, the challenge of testing their skills against another who is at their best and when the stakes are the highest. The elite have an unshakable belief in their own abilities and have an unfailing work ethic that allows them to perfect their craft as very few others can.