How good can your athlete be? How good does she want to be? These questions are simple yet powerful beyond your imagination.

You see I am of the belief that your athlete can be as good as she wants to be. But ultimately all that matters is what she believes, not what you or I believe for her. Your athlete's beliefs about herself will likely limit her success to a great degree. Let's find out why.

Any sport requires preparation and effort to be successful at it, and fastpitch softball is certainly no exception. To attain a level of mastery that will allow your athlete to be her best takes time and a special mental attitude to overcome the adversity, fatigue and pressures the game throws at her. All too often players limit themselves because their thinking acts like an invisible harness holding them back.

Limited thinking sounds like this:

• "I'd like to be good;" "I'm too tired to practice any more"
• "The game is too hard;" "I'll never be as good as she is"
• "I'm not sure if I'll succeed;" "Goals...I don't need goals"
• "I'm not fast enough; "I'm not strong enough;" "I'm not good enough"

Deep down inside either your athlete believes she can or cannot achieve the goals she sets for herself (or the goals you or her coaches have set for her). If she believes she can't she will hesitate on the field believing she is not capable or worthy of success. She holds the key to the level of success she achieves. If she can capture just a glimpse of her future greatness and buy into it she can remove the shackles of her own limitations and begin the journey towards greatness.

Let's look at behaviors of a "No Limit" player that truly has no boundaries to her success:

1. Attitude - she believes she can be the best if she works hard enough. Moreover because of her "no limit" belief in her ability and herself she actually expects to succeed at a high level. She sees mistakes as part of the mastery process and pushes through adversity with a smile.

To continue reading about how she limits her success please go HERE.