THE RIGHT CALL

Wide-ranging psychological inspiration from a veteran Washington Post sportswriter and columnist.

“Champions are essentially the product of their own work,” writes Jenkins, author of The Real All Americans. This may seem self-evident, but on closer examination, it has depth: We can train and be coached, but striving in the right spirit comes from within. In conversation with Charles Barkley, for instance, Jenkins pulls out the observation, “I don’t want mistakes to be part of my life.” That’s all well and good, though it would seem to contradict, at least somewhat, the author’s assertion that failure is part of the process, without which nothing can be learned. At heart, this book is about applying the lessons of professional athletics to everyday life—e.g., the idea that whether we want to or not, we sometimes have to make difficult decisions, just as a quarterback caught in a make-or-break play has to decide what to do. How does that happen? As Jenkins, who seems at home in every sport, writes, we should consider NFL Hall of Fame coach Bill Walsh’s advice: “The less thinking people have to do under adverse circumstances, the better.” The best professional athletes game out just about every possible permutation beforehand to know what to do without thinking about it moment by moment. Along the way, Jenkins draws useful lessons in leadership, self-discipline (“it’s a form of self-rule”), the aspiration to win, and, perhaps most important, the way in which the love of a game is transformational—especially “when circumstances seem overwhelming,” as they so often do. Though confined to running, John Jerome’s long-forgotten book The Elements of Effort is superior in many respects, but Jenkins’ book is more than serviceable.

A pleasure for self-help aficionados and buffs with an interest in the mental aspects of a variety of sports.