Psychology of Champions: How to Win at Sports and Life With the Focus Edge of Super-Athletes

The first book to gather firsthand accounts of successful practices, and thinking habits, of sports legends and super-athletes--from across sports including football, baseball, basketball, boxing, golf, car-racing, and swimming--this work holds lessons that can power not only athletic success, but winning in any daily challenges of life or work. The result of years of research, Psychology of Champions offers the very personal words of star athletes who explain how they overcame such obstacles as fear, discouragement, and anxiety, and were able to move on to success. Each story--including from those of baseball great Ted Williams, basketball star Michael Jordan, football’s famed Deion Sanders, and dozens more from across sports --is unique. Yet, the authors determine that, when all is said and done, the overriding variables accounting for the greatest success fall into three categories: motivation, confidence, and concentration. Barrell and Ryback spell out the rules for such success after each section in this absorbing book. The result is a book that not only entertains and educates us with firsthand accounts of ever-popular sports heroes, but also instructs athletes, amateur or professional, and arguably anyone with a goal to achieve in work or life.

In-the-moment accounts reveal just what to do in various critical periods of sports competition--from being at bat in baseball, to making an instantaneous decision as a quarterback, firing the winning basket in the dying moments of a game, or launching the winning move in boxing or judo. Barrell and Ryback draw the lessons together in what they term The Focus Edge mindset. That mindset--and this book-- says one former Olympian, take greatness and make it accessible to you and me.

James J. Barrell, Ph.D., is a professor, researcher, and consultant. With more than 25 years experience as a consultant and human factor specialist for professional sports organizations and athletes, Barrell’s affiliations have included the San Francisco Giants, San Francisco 49ers, and the Orlando Magic. He has also worked individually with numerous athletes in the NFL, NBA, Major League Baseball, golf, tennis, track, car racing, and professional boxing. His most recent successes include consulting on performance enhancement with the coaching staff of the University of Florida athletic teams, playing an integral role in supporting the Gators in their 2006 and 2007 NCAA championships. As an educator, Barrell has been affiliated with the University of Florida, University of West Virginia, Stanford Research Institute International, Medical College of Virginia, and the National Institutes of Health.

David Ryback, Ph.D., is a board-certified psychologist consulting under the banner of EQ Associates International, of Atlanta, Georgia. He is the author of numerous books, more than 60 journal articles, and book reviews in publications including Psychology Today. An active member of the National Speakers Association, Ryback is a former columnist for the association’s national magazine, Speaker. A former lecturer and professor at the University of Maryland, Georgia State University and Emory University, Ryback consults on issues of success in sports, business, and leadership skills.