Winning is a habit that once you experience it you want more and more. It is the key ingredient that separates the great teams or great individuals from ordinary ones.Often what separates a good team or individual from being great is getting over that final hurdle, the mental block that eludes them from obtaining that big win. Both amateurs and professionals experience it resulting in a lucrative market for the sports psychologists.Having just the physical tools for preparation is not enough to take that game to the next level. How many times have you witnessed teams being close to winning, but fall just short? For me, a few situations of past and present come to mind.St David’s CC are one that for years were known as a mid-table team that seemed to have the talent, but just couldn’t put all the pieces together. It was baffling as to why a team with so much potential were not winning trophies.They were being watched closely by the cricket fraternity and it seemed that everyone reckoned it was just a matter of time before winning had to be on the cards for them. St David’s needed to learn how to win.Fortunately for me, having come from St George’s that was a skill that I had learned and appreciated and was eager to take up the challenge to teach them. The players from St David’s were keen learners and willing to work extremely hard. Mental toughness was the only barrier standing in the way from achieving what the entire club had been longing for.To win once, tantalizes the appetite, and now the hunger for winning is the adrenaline that makes you believe you can do it again. Glen Blakeney and Dean Minors were two players with mental toughness and a knack for success that were recruited for St David’s with the hope that their attitudes would rub off on the rest of the players.The first test came in the Camel Cup at Rangers in the finals against Western Stars. Stars with Albert Steede and company posted a massive 275. The boys came off the field depleted.As I looked around the room I sensed dissatisfaction and defeat in their demeanor. As coach with the help of Glenn and Dean we reiterated that the score was obtainable. Reminding them that we were on a mission and we were not going to be stopped.That self belief speech put the gleam back into the team’s eyes and it was now Game On! The game was close! With merely two overs to spare I got out and Dean was coming to the wicket needing 10 more runs to win the game. As I approached Dean for a coach’s pep talk, his response was, “Go and sit down, I will finish the job don’t worry.” So said, so done. With seven runs needed off the last over Dean blasted two sixes to help St. David’s win their first trophy. A great and exciting feat, but my question was do they now really believe? Can this team now pull out within themselves the greatness that has just been sitting there?Next major test, St David’s are playing Bailey’s Bay at Bay and Bay bat first and post a total of 305 runs. Once again as coach I share the team strategy of how we were going to tackle this score, once again reiterating that we could do this. All the strategies in the world could not compare to the speech of their fellow team-mate, Glen Blakeney. “Coach can I speak?” He goes on to say, “Guys that is not a big total on this field we will get that total with five overs to spare, don’t you worry.”It is that confidence in an athlete that is admirable to me, and it was that confidence that I wanted filtered through the team. We did go on and win the game convincingly and actually go the season undefeated. The monkey was off their back and from there the rest is history.One player on the international scene that I am waiting to see get over the hump is Andy Murray, the Scottish tennis player. He is currently in the semi-finals of the Australian Open trying to win his first Major. He has been close before, losing in the finals. His technical ability isn’t in question it is his mental game that he needs to come to grips with. In recent weeks he hired Ivan Lendl a former world champion to enhance his chances and improve his game. Having a coach like Ivan will only benefit Murray because Ivan has been there and knows what it takes to get to that next level.Another tennis player who was in his same shoes is Novak Djokovic before ending his drought. Novack used to struggle to win matches against Nadal and Federer, and if he managed to win against one of them, he would be up against the other and fall short every time. However, once he won his first Major he has become a player that is extremely tough to beat. He has overcome the fear of losing and now knows what it takes to win.Winning is a skill that many fail to understand. Some think that talent is all that it takes, and with great talent you will eventually become a winner. I beg to differ. Winning takes a lot of hard work. Winning is an attitude. Winning to some is not important, but to others it is everything. Vince Lombardi once said, “If winning isn’t everything, why do we keep the score?”When I look at our two national teams it is evident that this is an area where we need improvement. Often times the body language and even the talk implies that we are defeated before the challenge even takes place. This is a mindset that we have to teach our players and our young athletes if we are to see more success in the future.Quote of the week: I play to win, whether during practice or a real game. And I will not let anything get in the way of me and my competitive enthusiasm to win Michael Jordan