[EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:
Harden and Montgomery, the two
NCAA-trained sprinters, sat patiently in their blocks, were not charged
with
any false starts, and while everyone else was playing these games, they
just
did what they were supposed to do. They might have won the gold and silver
anyway, but I had the impression that their abstention from the
beat-the-gun-if-you-can business gave them a mental edge when it mattered.
A misconception. They did not sit because they were NCAA trained. Most of
eh people in major finals are NCAA trained, no matter what country they are
from. The difference is confidence. It is not a game they are playing, it
is survival. If you are in the blocks with the best the world has to offer,
you are going to be nervous, and you are going to try and get out. It is a
sprinters mentality. You will not change that at the elite level. This is
not college, and we are talking about amateur athletics. These are the best,
and they are separated by thousandths, not tenths. They earn money at this.
When you were in college and your report was due, you secretly had a choice.
If you did not turn it in, you could make up for it on a test, or on another
report. When you got a job, that option is gone. You get the report done or
risk losing your job. A different set of rules now apply. A different level
of pressure. Same thing for those sprinters you see out there.
HS or collegiate jumps out of a race, what is the cost to him? Essentially
nothing, a little pride. A professional jumps out, money, medals, money,
championships, the once in a life time chance to run in an Olympic final.
DGS
Faith is a road seldom traveled
