who does not dream of becoming an elite professional athlete when he is still a child, or even later, when life begins to consider him as someone mature? What person who has a certain love for sport and for practicing it does not think, from time to time or every morning or every minute, of being able to dedicate his life to that discipline that makes him fall in love with it? Soccer, basketball, golf, cycling, badminton, handball or whatever.
The answer is easy: nobody. No one is free from dreaming of succeeding in sport, because that is precisely one of the main characteristics that any sporting discipline has, that of acting as a ladder to our most impossible dreams. Then, of course, there is the positive impact that sport has on children, health, and even money for professionals. And yet, first and foremost, there is the dream of competing with and against the best.
And in this sense, of course, the question is always the same: what does it take to become an elite athlete? What steps must be taken to fulfill that dream? As much as there is no magic answer or method, the truth is that our years of experience have provided us with some information in this regard. Therefore, in this article we are going to collect some of the lessons we have learned about the path that leads to being an elite athlete.
Of course, we do not assure you that you will become one by following these tips. But what is clear is that, as we will see below, it has worked for more than one or two people.
Start practicing sports from a young age (but without obligations or exclusivity)
The relationship with physical activity from a young age is crucial, and it is equally important that this approach takes place in a healthy way. Without obsessions, demands, exclusivity or parents pressuring you to meet your goals.
And the fact is that, contrary to popular belief, specialization, specific training and focusing on a single discipline can be irrelevant, even counterproductive, when you are a child. Simply put, you can grow to hate a discipline if it becomes an obligation. On the other hand, practicing any sport (even several) from a young age, whatever it may be, will help enhance the skills of someone who wants to aspire to be an elite professional athlete.
Of course, this does not mean that there are no examples of athletes who, from a very young age, have dedicated themselves to the same sport in an almost obsessive way and that this has worked out well for them. There is, for example, the case of Rafa Nadal, who at the age of 19 was already a star in the making and at the age of 12 was already dedicated exclusively to the racket. But there are also many cases of young athletes with enormous abilities who do not reach professionalism, precisely because of that feeling of burnout with a discipline that has demanded the maximum from them since they were children.
At the other extreme, we have many examples of elite athletes who did not dedicate themselves exclusively to any sport until they were older and, thanks to this, they became better in that discipline in which they ended up becoming professionals. Ivano Balic, one of the best handball players in history, always said that basketball had helped him become a better handball player. And Primoz Roglic, three-time winner of the Vuelta a España, was a ski jumper until he was 22.
There, too, is the case of the Norwegian government, which has turned the country into a sports powerhouse thanks to the fundamental idea of forgetting exclusive dedications in the lower categories. “Success is achieved through enjoyment, not competition,” they say. In short: the important thing is to practice the sport, regardless of what or how.
Training and sacrifice pay off
But, of course, this does not mean that effort, training and sacrifice are not key on the road to becoming an elite athlete. Quite the contrary. Although it is done from a perspective that forgets exclusivity and also contemplates fun, sport also has to instill the values of hard work in those who practice it. And it is this mentality that can then lead someone by the hand towards professionalism.
No one can exemplify this better than Kobe Bryant and his mamba mentality, that vision of sport as a job to which one dedicates oneself with passion, body and soul, with the goal of becoming the best version of oneself. There are many stories that can be told about the late star of the Los Angeles Lakers, but perhaps the most striking are those that have to do with the impact he had on former Spanish player Pau Gasol.
Training and sacrifice not only have the ability to pave one’s own path to the elite, but also to inspire others. As Kobe Bryant did with Pau Gasol and many others.
Good psychological preparation is essential
We live in a world in which mental health, work and psychological care of oneself are fundamental aspects of day-to-day life. This being so, how could not be the preparation with a sports psychologist something super important for an athlete who aspires to be elite?
The importance of knowing how to manage positive and negative emotions, having the ability to maintain concentration in moments of vital or competitive stress, or being able to manage success and frustration in the healthiest way, are key aspects for the athlete. And, be careful, these teachings are not limited to the world of professional sports: they are also lessons that can be applied to normal life, to everyday life, even if it has nothing to do with physical activity.
For all these reasons, it is no coincidence that the staffs of professional teams and athletes are no longer conceivable without the figure of a sports psychologist. Patricia Ramírez, for example, is one of the most renowned sports psychology professionals in Spain, and has worked with several of the most reputable clubs in LaLiga. A luxury worth listening to.
Knowing how to give up is the key
In fact, to confirm the previous idea, a good psychological preparation is a fundamental help when that moment arrives that every athlete who aspires to be an elite has to face: that of giving up many of life’s pleasures. Spending time with friends, food indulgences, late nights, vacations and even, when the time comes -the later the better-, other sports in which the road to professionalism does not seem to be possible.
Moreover, both in a young and a mature athlete, this is not something that affects only him, but his entire environment. Fathers and mothers, partners and children, all will have to make certain sacrifices and give up certain things so that the athlete can walk his way to the elite. In the end, even in individual sports, everything is based on teamwork.
To face these situations of renunciations and sacrifices, there is nothing like being inspired by those who preceded us, like visualizing the positive side that will offer us to leave aside, even if only for a while, all that we do not want to leave. There, for example, it is worth listening to Alejandro Valverde and the summary he made of his cycling career when he looked back in 2022, at the age of 42 and before his last Vuelta a España: “Cycling compensated for all my sacrifices“.
And a key idea: not everyone achieves success, nor is there only one way to do it
Finally, something to keep in mind from the moment we start our journey towards professional sport is a very important idea: that not everyone who sets out to become an elite athlete succeeds, not even a small percentage of those who do.
Therefore, as the philosopher Aristotle said, one should not find “pleasure in the end, but in the action well accomplished”. Doing one’s best, doing what one can and to the best of one’s ability, is in itself a source of satisfaction. If this -through other capital factors that are not under our control, such as luck or context- allows one to reach the goal of elite sport, then great. If not, one must be content with what one has and with what one has done, feel proud of one’s path. And, above all, not to get frustrated with oneself when one has done everything in one’s power.
Moreover, it should be said that one or two setbacks do not always have to be the definitive farewell to a professional career, and that some of these, even the most brilliant ones, come from the least expected side. There is the example of Annemiek van Vleuten, one of the best cyclists in history, who did not make her debut on the elite circuit until she was 25 years old and did not dedicate herself exclusively to cycling until she was 28 years old .
There is a lot to learn from Annemiek.
Conclusion
All these lessons are what our years of experience have taught us. That sacrifice and renunciations and training are very important to reach the elite, but so are knowing how to enjoy, seeing the sport as fun for as long as possible, and understanding that there are factors that will decide our future that are not under our control.
That is the philosophy we apply in our daily work, in our high performance soccer academies and in everything we do as a company. And, to be honest, we believe that there are no better values possible.
