BOOK REVIEW BECOMING A TRUE ATHLETE

BECOMING A TRUE ATHLETE

BY JEFF BUKANTZ OLYMPIAN’S BOOK OFFERS ADVICE FOR ATHLETES AND THOSE WHO SUPPORT THEM

LAURENCE CASSOE HALSTED, a two-time British Olympic fencer, takes us on a journey accurately described in the subtitle of his book, “A practical philosophy for flourishing through sport.”

In Becoming a True Athlete, Halsted explains that his motivation for authoring the book is to help other athletes have a more positive experience of sport while helping overcome the inevitable obstacles all athletes encounter on their journey.

He aims to achieve four things:

• Challenge the current win-at-all-costs culture of the sport • Persuade athletes to think more deeply about the meaning and value of sports • Help athletes achieve more of their athletic potential • Give athletes a foundation for enhanced well-being as they go through their sporting career

Halsted delves a little deeper into the role sports plays in the world and the need to get away from the win-at-all-costs mentality, which is commendable yet somewhat unrealistic for an athlete embarking on an Olympic dream. Respectfully to the author, this did not resonate with me, although I have the same dream that the athletic world would be a more perfect place.

However, the next two areas Halsted dove into hit home.

He writes about the unyielding importance of personal integrity and how it defines a person in their athletic life, and, more importantly, in their overall life. That integrity not only allows the person to be comfortable in their own skin, but to help gain the trust and respect of others.

The next area is something that makes this book a great read for athletes of all ages, especially younger ones, as well as parents and coaches. It is about accepting personal responsibility.

As we see in the fencing world, losses are often blamed on bad refereeing as opposed to being outfenced. Young fencers and their parents witness their coaches blame the referee. The fencer’s instinct is not to accept the responsibility, and the conflicted coach certainly wants the parents to think the failure of the student was not their fault.

Halsted is right on the money as he writes that taking responsibility for things that happen in your life (not just on the fencing strip) is so important in not only selfawareness, but in gaining the trust of others.

In addition, he points out that for one to learn from mistakes, he or she must acknowledge the responsibility for having made them.

Halsted sums it up by talking about achieving fulfillment by taking responsibility as opposed to blaming others and complaining. He goes on to point out that one’s fulfillment in life in not based solely on success in sports; rather, that is enhanced by appreciating the journey and relationships fostered along the way. In addition, he espouses that no one is self-made, and it is healthy to seek support to reach top-level performance while developing a healthy approach to accomplishing a goal.

The last few chapters are a bit esoteric and certainly provide a platform for deeper thought. But the majority of Becoming a True Athlete offers plenty of life lessons and is great read for everyone who wants to better themselves both as an athlete and as a person.

Becoming a True Athlete (Sequoia Books, 2021) is available at major booksellers.