By learning their traits, you can become one of the greats

Most young, passionate sports people dream of turning professional and representing their country on the world stage.

It is hard to fathom such an achievement, but all dreams start with the first step, and then the journey begins.

This begs the question: How do you develop the right way and become the greatest South African of all time in your sport?

It takes a particular type of person to become a great athlete, and if you want to become the best, you must start asking the right questions.

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One of those questions is: What traits do some of the best athletes in the world possess, that you need to master, to be great?

Traits of the greats

Roger Federer is one of the greatest tennis players of all time, winning 20 Grand Slam singles titles and holding the No 1 position in the world for 310 weeks. Some traits that make him legendary are his hand grip, combined with an open and broader stance which allows for a powerful forearm. He flows across the court with poise and grace and uses an “economy of movement” strategy where he moves with purpose and efficiency. This has reduced wear and tear on joints and tendons and allows him to gain the advantage when the match goes to those extra sets. Federer has a killer back-hand spin with a ball rotation of 5 300 revolutions per minute which spins all his opponents out of contention. Federer also attacks the net and varies his play with perfect touch and finesse positioning. He attributes some of his success to the confidence he developed through thousands of hours of practice which has allowed him autonomy or an instinctive style of play. He is so confident in his abilities based on inner trust that he reacts faster and with conviction on the court.

Michael Phelps is the greatest Olympian of all time with 23 gold medals to his name. Phelps had a genetic advantage of being double-jointed and having a greater wingspan, but this alone was no guarantee that it would make him a superstar. What made him an icon was his insane dedication to training. It was said that he didn’t take a day off training in five years (or 1 825 consecutive days). His average training routine consisted of swimming between 64km and 91km a week. Phelps, on self-reflection, attributed some of his success to tracking how much sleep he was getting and how often and how long he was in a state of REM sleep. He also attributed his success to never believing he couldn’t do anything and writing down specific goals he wanted to achieve.

Michael Jordan is perhaps the greatest basketball player of all time, with six NBA titles and five NBA Most Valuable Player awards. MJ had incredible athleticism and showed so much stamina and speed that players could not keep up. He was well proportioned in build and could generate explosive dunking power on demand. He mastered his craft in dribbling and rebounding and was a phenomenal shooter who could score points anywhere on the court and under pressure. Jordan scored a career average of 30.1 points per game from 1984 to 2003 in 1 072 games. He was competitive, hated losing and believed in doing what it takes to be victorious. He wanted it more than anyone else on the court.

The journey to the top is not as glamorous as one might think and is filled with many adversities. Like any good story, there is the good, the bad and the ugly.

This is life, and sport is no different, but if you love something, you will be able to put in the thousands of hours needed to master your craft.

Each sport has unique attributes. Find out what they are and set a journey to becoming the very best in those attributes.

If you fall short, strive to be be good enough to play and compete on a world stage, and with enough effort, you too could become one of the greats.