Throughout her career as one of the world's top athletes, Annie Vernon struggled with an existential question about the purpose of sport in our comfortable, first-world society: why do we do it? What is it about our psyche that makes pushing the mind and body to their limits in order to win a foot race, a swimming race or a rowing race such a basic human desire? Having retired from competition, Annie decided to look for answers to these questions in the world of mind games. What is the psychology behind sport at an elite level?
With Team GB recording its best ever performances at the Rio Olympic Games, having come second in the medal table in consecutive games, the public is aware of elite sport and the techniques used by our sporting heroes more than ever. Whether it be performing under pressure, coping with nerves, teamwork, or building self-belief in the face of adversity, the methods that elite sports-people use are also relevant to everyday life. But sports psychology is still regarded as something of a mystery. How exactly do elite sports performers harness the power of their mind in pursuit of physical perfection?
Mind Games discusses concepts used in sports psychology in a way that is understandable to the watching public, sports fans and sports-haters alike, with Annie walking them through each area of the field, bringing in expert exponents to add their input. The narrative is broadly based in three main sources; the author's own experiences, interviews with a wide range of people from other sports, and a review of academic research in the field.
She speaks to athletes from a broad spectrum of sports in the UK and the US, including rugby's Brian Moore, Jonny Wilkinson and Clive Woodward, tennis's Judy Murray, rowers Steve Redgrave, Matthew Pinsent and Katherine Grainger, polar explorer Ben Saunders, triathlete Chrissie Wellington, swimmer Rebecca Adlington, skeleton-bob star Lizzy Yarnold, runner Jo Pavey and sailor Ben Ainslie, along with coaches and sports psychologists from both Olympic sports and their professional equivalents in football cycling. US sports personalities interviewed include basketball's Shane Battier and John Starks, NFL stars Ryan Fitzpatrick, fencer Tim Morehouse, and baseball's Craig Breslow and Tino Martinez.
After looking closely at areas such as motivation, competitiveness, gender, and teamwork, Olympic medallist Annie Vernon steps away from the rowing boat to uncover the underlying psychological principles behind the sports that everyone enjoys.
About the Author
Annie Vernon is a former Olympic rower. She was a full-time athlete for eight years and in that time competed in six World Championships and two Olympic Games. She won gold at the 2007 and 2010 World Championships and silver at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. Annie retired from elite sport in 2012 and is now a sports journalist and corporate speaker, regularly contributing to BBC Sport, The Times, Guardian, Sunday Times and Rowing & Regatta. She lives in Cornwall.
Industry Reviews
A tour de force of elite sport, nerves, expectation and pressure from all perspectives. * Matthew Pinsent *
There is no better person to shed light on the fascinating subject of sports psychology than two-timed World Champion, Olympian and talented sports journalist, Annie Vernon * Chrissie Wellington OBE *
A fascinating book about the psychology of elite sport... Mind Games explores compelling territory. It asks searching questions about the mentality required to succeed at sport's highest level while mining themes of self-doubt, determination, competitiveness and why "talent needs trauma" to blossom. -- Don McRae * the Guardian *
Loved it... I would recommend it to all of you. * BBC 5 Live, Jazmin Sawyers *
I played professional rugby for 13 years and it was amazing to read in Mind Games that the doubts and challenges I felt during that time weren't mine alone - they were shared by my peers across different disciplines. I wish I'd had Mind Games as a reference book during my career as I'm sure it would have made me much stronger to know I wasn't alone in my thinking. * Chris Bentley, former professional rugby player *
As engaging as it is broad-ranging... After reading and thoroughly enjoying Mind Games, I'll look at lots of sports in a quite different way... I highly recommend adding it to your own collection. * Peter Cossins *
An amazing book that I very much enjoyed. -- Simon Mundie * Don't Tell Me the Score (BBC Podcast) *
This book has insight that will be of interest to athletes in all sports and athletics events. * Athletics Weekly *
