ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the author aims to cover the performer’s perspective of the elite sporting process. He examines the perspective of athletes who have only just achieved elite status but with a fairly special twist. Each athlete’s hand-drawn graphic is included and referred to help the reader with the timeline of events. There are several examples of autonomy and luck, together with assistance from others. Both Tommy and Chris emphasise their role in giving the boys choices but also, crucially, ensuring that those choices carry personal responsibility. These ideas echo much of the authors' work in talent development and it is great to see the conscious focus on delegation and increased self-determination. The chapter concludes with an overview of issues that have emerged, offering a unique insight into one family’s experience of the pathway to the top.
