Inner Strength: The Mental Dynamics of Athletic Performance [Paperback]

Ralph A. Vernacchia (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 2003

Inner Strength is for sport psychology professionals, coaches, and especially athletes who desire to enhance athletic performance through mental skills training.

Developing your Inner Strength requires sincere and earnest participation with the Mental Keys to Success training concepts and Peak Performance Exercises throughout the book. The book is based on solid research and basic common sense. It presents a realistic performance model which focuses first and always on consistently delivering effective performances. "Peak Performances" are just that, spikes in the course of effective performances."

Key topics to fuel athletic performances include: Establishing Foundational Beliefs • Dreaming Your Athletic Destiny • Fueling Your Dream • Understanding Your Own Motivations • The Power of Visualization • A Goal Attainment Plan • Quality Practice • Coverage of personal excellence, commitment, and quality of life.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Applied Sport Psychology has been waiting for a text such as this one; theoretically grounded, but experientially based." -- Dr. Keith Henschen, current President of the International Society of Sport Psychology, back cover quote

Ralph Vernacchia has translated a massive body of empirical work in the sciences of sport into an imminently practical volume. -- Dr. Brenda Bredemeier, Mendelson Center for Sports, Charachter, and Community at the University of Notre Dame / back cover quote

This book is really good, I will definitely incorporate it as my Mental Training Book of choice. -- Dr. Dave Yukelson, Pennsylvania State University / back cover quote

About the Author

Ralph Vernacchia is one of the true leaders in sport psychology today, leading the charge of translating the massive body of empirical work done in the field into straight forward advice that can be used by the serious athlete.

Ralph A. Vernacchia directs the undergraduate and graduate programs in sport psychology at Western Washington University, as well as WWU's Center for Performance Excellence. He is a fellow and certified consultant of the Association for the Advancement of Applied Sport Psychology (AAASP). He is also co-chair of the USA Track and Field (USATF) Sport Psychology Sub-Committee and has traveled as a performance consultant with several USA track and field teams,including the 2000 USA Olympic Track and Field Teams. He has been selected as a 2003–2004 Distinguished Visiting Professor in Physical Education at the United States Military Academy, West Point, New York.

Product Details

• Paperback: 282 pages
• Publisher: Warde Publishers (July 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1886346089
• ISBN-13: 978-1886346086
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #603,774 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Inner Strength, March 25, 2006

By 

Geoffrey J. Wilhelmy "Boxing Fan" (La Crosse, Wisconsin) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Inner Strength: The Mental Dynamics of Athletic Performance (Paperback)

With the enormous prestige and financial rewards that come with athletic success, it's inevitable that no stone will be left unturned to learn how to develop a world champion or an Olympic gold medalist. In recent decades, attention has focused on the mental dynamics of athletic performance. The cornerstone of all these approaches has been visualization, i.e.the use of all the senses to create, simulate or re-create in one's mind, successful and effective performance. Now, we have an author capable of delivering a more expansive approach,though his chapter on visualization is quite good. Ralph Vernacchia is a PH.D who developed his approaches not solely through academia, but by combining rigorous academic study with real life experience. Mr. Vernacchia was first a high school and college miler, who later coached college cross country and track for 22 years. Following his teaching and coaching, he worked directly with some of the USA's finest coaches and experts in applied sport psychology. All this has been distilled into the remarkably lucid and practical text, "Inner Strength".
Mr. Vernacchia first presents the psychological profile of the elite athlete,ability to moderate worry, concentrate, maintain confidence, mentally prepare. Traditionally, these characteristics have then been drowned in platitudes and homilies, diluted beyond usefullness. What seperates "Inner Strength" is its ability to take these characteristics and analyze how they can be developed in the athlete. In addition, there are other chapters of particular benefit to a coach."The Values and Beliefs of Athletic Excellence" chapter is an excellent resource to create a foundational basis for a program that is not limited to a training schedule. Another chapter, "Fueling Your Dream, Understanding Athletic Motivation" is an excellent starting point for a coach despairing about what to do with his less committed performers.The book's strength is its practicality. Passages such as Three Principles of Quality Practice, Goal Attainment, Recommendations for Beating Burnout, 10 Ways to Master Pre-Performance Stress,Mental Toughness Training, offer different perspectives on standard challenges.
The field on the mental aspects of athletic performance has been dominated since its publication in 1984 by Rich Elliott's " The Competitive Edge, Mental Preparation for Distance Runners." Ralph Vernacchia's "Inner Strength" is an invaluable companion to this volume.