Becoming a True Champion

Today, aspiring athletes have to work harder and be more dedicated than athletes of previous generations who did not have to contend with the messages of a popular culture that promotes winning at all costs and implicitly condones "shortcuts" to winning. Many of today's athletic superstars glorify and demonstrate cheating and illicit, destructive conduct. Whether off the field antics or on the field cheating through the use of illegal performance-enhancing drugs typify an athlete's lack of personal values, the bad behavior displayed by many in a broad range of sports is hard to escape. The result is that too many such negative role models and influences are out there, diverting today's developing competitors down a seductive path to failure rather than upward to excellence and lasting, honest achievement. Becoming a True Champion: Achieving Athletic Excellence from the Inside Out fills a critical need by speaking in a frank and direct voice directly to today's aspiring athletes about these crucial, controversial issues and the personal choices they face. At the same time the book presents them with the antidote to these negative influences-the fundamental values, attitudes and concepts, both mental and practical, that support and lead to athletic excellence. A "true champion" is an athlete with the specific qualities of character, mental discipline, and physical skills necessary to generate and keep increasing athletic excellence and success throughout his or her career. These qualities can be learned and developed; they need not be inborn. Becoming a True Champion goes deeply into each quality to show developing athletes how adopting it directly affects and enhances athletic performance, longevity, and dignity. Through relevant examples, inspiring stories, and a personalized approach, the book shows athletes how to avoid the many pitfalls, and overcome the inevitable obstacles, so common in today's sports culture. For more information, check out the author's website here.

Kirk Mango was a collegiate Division I National Champion and gold medalist on the still rings in 1979, defeating several Olympians to earn this honor. The previous year Kirk had won the silver medal on this event in the 1978 Division I National Championships. He was selected as a collegiate All-American in both 1978 and 1979 and to the present day still holds the Northern Illinois University school record for the still rings event. Kirk is also a three-time Hall of Fame athlete and was selected in 2009 as Number 8 on the list of "Top 50 Huskies of All Time" by the NIU Northern Star. He has been a high school teacher for 32 years, coaching for 17 of them. He has coached girls' gymnastics teams to three conference championships, four regional championships, one sectional championship and three Elite-Eight IHSA (Illinois High School Association) state championship competitions. Kirk has also been a member of the Illinois Association of Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance, which is dedicated to the promotion of the quality of life through fitness and wellness.

Foreword by Nadia Comaneci
Message to Aspiring Athletes by Phil Wunderlich
Acknowledgments
A Champion
Introduction: Sports on the Edge
The Code of a True Champion
Section 1: The Principles of a True Champion -Someone Only in Legends?
Ch. 1- It Starts with You: Realizing Your Potential and Creating Success
Ch. 2- Do You Know Where You're Going?: Goals-The Choice is Yours
Ch. 3- The Burning Within: Desire-The Fuel that Drives You to Move Beyond Nomal Limitations
Ch. 4- Five Letters That Spell Success: The CDSPH Principle-What it Really Means
Ch. 5- What You Do Speaks Volumes: Character and Integrity-The Road Less Traveled
Ch. 6- An Unrewarding Path: Cheating-The Road to Nowhere
Ch. 7- A Championship State of Mind: Core Attitudes and a Mindset for Achievement
Ch. 8- Separate yet Related: Mindsets for Training and Competition
Expectation from Practice
Section 2: Building the Dream - The Training Process
Ch. 9- From the Ground Up: Fundamentals for Success
Ch. 10- Pieces and Parts: Breaking it Down
Ch. 11- A Method above the Rest: A Question of Quality or Quantity
Ch. 12- An Essential Piece of the Puzzle: Vital Concepts of Conditioning
Ch. 13- Simplifying the Training Process: The Circle of Achievement
Ch. 14- A Blank Slate to Work With: Circle of Achievement Worksheets
Individuality
Section 3: Putting it all Together - A True Story
Ch. 15- Mission Impossible: The Goal
Ch. 16- Take a Walk in My Shoes: Club Training and Gymnastics Camp
Ch. 17- Putting It to the Test: Senior Year
Ch. 18- The Outcome Says It All: Final Tests
Ch. 19- When All Is Said and Done: Conclusion
Who Am I? The Libero Code
Your Greatest Gift to Yourself
References and Notes
About the Authors