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Book SynopsisWINNER OF THE TELEGRAPH SPORTS BOOK AWARDS 2020 GENERAL OUTSTANDING SPORTS WRITING''A fascinating book about the psychology of elite sport Mind Games explores compelling territory.'' - Don McRae, the Guardian''An amazing book that I very much enjoyed.'' - Simon Mundie, Don''t Tell Me the Score (BBC Podcast)''...a fascinating book'' - Daily MailIt's well known that to reach the top in elite sport, you need to have spent years honing and perfecting your physical ability. However this is only part of the template required to win the other half is about mind games. Throughout her career as one of the world's top athletes, Annie Vernon struggled with existential questions about the purpose of sport in our comfortable, first-world society: Why do we do it? What is it in our psyche that makes us push ourselves to the limit? What allows us to mentally overcome the physical pain? Now retired from competition, Olympi
Trade ReviewAn amazing book that I very much enjoyed. -- Simon Mundie * Don’t Tell Me the Score (BBC Podcast) *
A tour de force of elite sport, nerves, expectation and pressure from all perspectives. -- Matthew Pinsent
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 *
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
Loved it… I would recommend it to all of you. -- Jazmin Sawyers * BBC 5 Live *
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
Table of ContentsIntroduction: Science, Magic or Voodoo 1. Chickens or Pigs 2. The Penny's Got to Drop 3. Coming to Violence Over Trivial Pursuits 4. Choosing training over Turkey 5. Personalty 6. The Confidence Wand 7. How to be Tarzan, How to be Jane 8. Race Day, the Moment of Truth 9. Becoming a Carrot Farmer 10. Conclusion
