While last week's article enlightened the Bermuda National cricket players on how to become successful as a team, this week's article focuses on a key component to individual success.

The biggest problem we have with our local cricketers is making the transition from domestic cricket to international cricket. Why is this? I believe the answer revolves around the lack of mental toughness.

What is mental toughness? Mental toughness is having the natural or developed psychological edge that enables you to:

n Generally cope better than your opponents with the many demands (e.g., competition, training, and lifestyle) that are placed on you as a performer.

n Specifically, to be more consistent and better than your opponents in remaining determined, focused, confident, resilient, and in control under pressure (Jones et al, 2002).

My belief is that there are four components an athlete must have if he is to be mentally tough.

n Self-belief - if you do not belief in yourself how are your teammates going to believe in you? How often do you hear people say, "Clay smith is cocky, or he is arrogant", well I am here to tell you that it all has to do with confidence. When you are confident you are courageous, meaning you have the courage to compete as a warrior without fear.

n Motivation - When you are required to wake up and train at 6 am in the gym you must have a desirable goal, something that you know will drive you beyond your normal limits.

n Focus - As an athlete you have to know when to switch on and when to switch off. There will be outside distractions, but you cannot allow them to deter you from performing at your optimal level. You must constantly reaffirm your psyche with positive statements such as, I know I can, today is my day, nothing is going to stop me etc.

n Composure - The ability to handle pressure is critical.

My brother has a philosophical viewpoint that he subscribes to - the greater the crisis, the calmer you must be. There will be psychological battles on the field that will require you to stay in control. Always have a plan B and plan C in the event that things don't go according to plan. This will enable you to be cognizant of the challenges or obstacles without going into a panic mode. Quite simply, you have been proactive with your thinking and prepared alternative strategies.

In most instances, the athlete has all of the ability to be successful at the international level, but is mentally weak. This hinders the player from making his mark at the next level.

How many players have you seen score tons of runs in Cup Match or County Cup, but once they leave our soil to represent Bermuda they fail miserably? This happens more often than not.

Why do they defeat themselves before they even begin? Players need to recognise that negative thinking often leads to poor performances. The pessimistic thoughts that they harbour become actualized once the event unfolds.

Quite simply, they speak to themselves in a negative tone before they even get on the field, thus bringing a negative mindset, which in the end filters through the team. The result, a whole team may under perform.

One of Bermuda's current players last week asked me how is it that I was so mentally tough and would I be willing to share one of my success stories with the current players.

My story is very simple. I wanted to be the best batsman Bermuda had ever produced, and in order to do that I knew I had to overcome all of my fears and achieve great things on the international stage.

The first thing I did was look in the mirror and ask myself, "What are you willing to do to achieve this objective?" This brought about running three times a week on my own, and engaging in batting practice for hours and hours to condition my brain. The intent was to develop a positive attitude, one that believed the notion that nothing was going to stop me. The more I trained the more determined and convinced I became.

My biggest challenge in respect to mental toughness involved playing in the Red Stripe in Jamaica against Courtney Walsh, Franklyn Rose and Patrick Patterson.

These guys bowled aggressively at me constantly bombarding me with short-pitched bouncers. Initially I was just bobbing and weaving, but as wickets started to tumble at the other end I realised, 'Clay this is your challenge, you have to fight fire with fire'.

After that every time they bounced me I would hook them. Patrick Patterson was ruthless. He was the type of bowler that could scare the living daylights out of you if you let him. He would walk down my end and stare at me from a short distance and I responded by telling him to go back and bounce me again. It was all a psychological mind game.

Right there and then I could have been intimidated, but I reversed it and showed no signs of weakness. Now instead of the bowler being in my head, I was now consuming his thoughts.

Over the years many have realised that in order to be successful your mind has to be in tune with what you want to accomplish physically. It should be noted that the most successful teams have a sports psychologist working with them. Their role is simply to see where the players' minds are and build on it to get it to a positive place.

However, do not be fooled. Don't think that because your team has a psychologist that you will automatically become mentally tough. I am sorry, it is not that simple and to be honest having been a part of the national squad I have seen it have an adverse effect where players become even weaker because they were looking or expecting immediate results.

At the end of the day if you want to be a champion and want to be successful you have to be mentally tough. Some people think it is a skill or a trait that you are born with, but I believe some learn mental toughness earlier then others.

Mind you, it is not an easy skill to learn nor is it an easy attribute to acquire.

That's why so many people don't have it, but it is something well worth the work. The big question is? Are you willing to put the necessary work required to achieve it?

The following are advantages of mental toughness:

n Excel during stress and pressure situations

n Being able to bounce back quicker after a negative performance

n Able to perform or produce results when things don't look favorable

n Have a mental edge over your competitors

In closing, mental toughness is a great asset to have, but it is not the be all and end all to sports.

There are so many other components and facets that comprise of the total athlete. It is however advantageous when you need something to fall back on. Strive for it because in the end it will add to your overall game.

Quote of the week: No excuses - Nick Jones