The Resilient Athlete

Psychological resilience is defined as adversity plus positive adaptation . The five important protective factors are highlighted together with examples of endurance persona maps. The four types of coaching environment are described (facilitating, unrelenting, comfortable and stagnant), along with the potential challenges that can ensue from each. Mental fortitude training brings together the key skills and capacities from all the other chapters to create a resilience bandwidth for athletes. With the analogy that ‘pressure makes diamonds’, the six key considerations for effective pressure training interventions are described together with a four-week plan for successful implementation. The challenge point framework can assist coaches in session planning, design and delivery. Training to learn, transfer and maintain is applied to the pyramidal and polarised training regimes discussed earlier. This is followed by introducing the concept of periodisation and a Performance Support Model through which psychological skills augment speed and endurance support sessions together with race-specific training. These can be customised to an individual athlete throughout the training year. The chapter ends showing a five-phase periodised approach to middle-distance preparation and competition with a joint physiological training and psychological focus.