The need to build stamina, along with sport-specific skills and strength, has become generally recognized in the sports world. Stamina isn't just for long-distance athletes, either. Athletes who have good stamina also have an improved ability to make clutch moves toward the end of a game or a race, no matter what the sport.
What Is Stamina in Sport?
What Is Stamina in Sport?
Significance
Stamina gives athletes the mental and physical strength and energy needed to continue over a long period of time. Stamina helps athletes use the skills required by their sports without losing concentration or tiring. Fatigue can lead to poor decisions by an athlete or to the inability to execute a task, like chasing a ball down at the end of a game, according to "Athletic Fitness for Kids," by Scott B. Lancaster and Radu Teodorescu. Having stamina also can help athletes prevent injury, advises Bill Foran in his book, "High Performance Sports Conditioning."
Misconceptions
Stamina is most typically referred to in reference to distance athletes like marathon runners, cyclists and triathletes. However, all sports require some sort of stamina, according Lancaster and Teodorescu. Some require it more obviously than others-- such as football, tennis, soccer, hockey and lacrosse--because of the continuous play that allows little time for rest. However, even athletes in sports like baseball, in which there are long periods of rest, need stamina if they want to deliver their optimal performance