Book Review: Chasing Excellence with Ben Bergeron

One of the book’s core messages is focusing on what you can control effort, attitude, and preparation. As a sport psychologist, I often see young athletes trapped by comparison: worrying about teammates’ performances, coaches’ opinions, or social media praise.  Bergeron reminds us that excellence comes from mastering your own controllables.

Ask yourself:

• Am I giving my best effort today?
• Am I focused on improvement, not perfection?
• Am I responding positively to setbacks?

Shifting your focus to controllables creates freedom and confidence the foundations of mental resilience.

The Champion Mindset: Process Over Outcome

Chasing Excellence reinforces a key psychological principle, outcome goals inspire, but process goals build progress. Bergeron’s athletes don’t obsess about winning; they obsess about the small habits that make winning inevitable.

For young athletes, this means learning to trust your process. The morning workouts, the recovery routines, the visualisation, the journaling.  These are the unseen moments that compound into excellence. When you let go of results and focus on consistent habits, you reduce pressure and perform with greater trust and flow.

Character Before Talent

Bergeron’s mantra — “champions are built, not born” — speaks directly to the heart of sport psychology.  He prioritises mindset and character above all else: integrity, humility, coachability, and grit.

In your late teens and early twenties, this is a crucial stage to define who you are as both an athlete and a person.  Talent may open doors, but character keeps them open. Developing values such as discipline, honesty, and persistence doesn’t just make you a better performer, it makes you a better teammate and leader.

Resilience Through Challenge

Every athlete faces setbacks: injuries, deselection, self-doubt, or burnout.  Bergeron’s approach reframes challenge as opportunity. He encourages his athletes to “embrace the suck” to see discomfort as the gateway to growth.

From a sport psychology perspective, this mindset shift is essential.  The more you learn to tolerate discomfort, the more your confidence grows. Instead of avoiding pressure, start asking: What can I learn from this? or How can this make me stronger?

Practical Takeaways for Young Athletes

1. Build daily discipline. Excellence is the result of habits repeated over time.
2. Focus on effort and attitude. You can’t control outcomes, but you can always control these.
3. Develop self-awareness. Reflect regularly on your mindset and behaviours.
4. Embrace adversity. Challenges reveal your character and fuel growth.
5. Stay humble, stay hungry. Never stop learning  from coaches, teammates, and mistakes.

Final Thoughts

Chasing Excellence is a must-read for any young athlete who wants to understand what separates the good from the great.  It strips away the illusion of quick success and replaces it with a philosophy rooted in purpose, process, and perseverance.

So, as you reflect on your own journey, ask yourself: Am I truly chasing excellence or just chasing outcomes?

>> Read – Chasing Excellence: A Story About Building the Worlds Fittest Athletes