ABSTRACT
A perennial issue for those working with athletes is to understand what makes them 'tick'. Developing an awareness of the athlete's perception of self is a way of achieving such an understanding. Three aspects of self are worth constructing: self image, self esteem, and self vulnerability. Self image can be regarded functionally as the vision the athlete has of himself along axes of discriminations or constructs available to him. The first step is to invite the athlete to describe himself. Self esteem might be defined as the evaluation of self with respect to an idealized vision of self. Self esteem can be analysed in a number of ways: self esteem score and the direction of change. Self vulnerability can be defined as the conceptualization of self under stress. It is an invaluable way of understanding the athlete's behaviour and attitude when, as they say 'the going gets tough'.
