Think Like a Champion: A Guide to Championship Performance for Student-Athletes

by Dick DeVenzio

Reading a book won't magically turn you into a champion, but it can save you a lot of time, help to pave your way, and inspire you. This book shows you how champions think and respond in a variety of situations. If you want to succeed in sports, you will want to read Think Like a Champion.

343 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2006

Reviews

[Ryan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good follow up to DeVenzio's basketball-specific books. This one has lessons that apply to other team and individual sports.

Through all of his books, I think the advice DeVenzio gives is very solid. It helps players focus on what they can control, and being the most effective athlete they can be regardless of what obstacles they face from circumstances, limitations and opponents (and even sometimes coaches and teammates).

He also has a very pragmatic way of convincing athletes that a lot of behavior and choices are bad, because they don't pay off in the end. I can imagine that would be very persuasive to a player who ignore advice that was based on moral grounds alone.

This book is a serious of short chapters on a bit of sports-related advice or subject to consider. He says he wants players to read it by their bedside in small chunks.

A few of the chapters I enjoyed most were:

Un-ruffle-ability -- great players don't let anything get under their skin
Taunting -- the potential benefits are outweighed by the downsides
Nodding to your coach -- shows you are open to his direction (and even criticism)

The author gets a little more into overall philosophies and priorities, and so there is probably more in this one that I disagree with, than his books like [Stuff Good Players Should Know] or [Runnin' The Show]. But overall, there is still a lot of good stuff in here for players of all sports to consider.

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Max’s pick for family book. Good points for being a champion. It was hard to read as book front to back. That’s part of why it took us so long. He did mention, not to read like a regular book though.

[Shawn Sorenson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am doing a book review on the book “Think like a Champion”. This book is written by Dick Devenzio. The book is about getting the right mindset so you are the best you can be. It teaches you to stop worrying about the small things and focus on the main goal or focus on why you started something. I really did enjoy the book it helped me alot. When my dad gave me the book and told me to read it i said “Why would i read this i don't need it”, now that i've read the book now i realize how much that really helped me and now i feel better after reading the book.
My favorite quote from the book is “Champions aren't made by the big plays, true champions are made by doing their job each and every time they have the opportunity.” I really liked this quote because to me it meant that you aren't really good if you have 1 luckey play. Real Champions are the people who get done what they have to get done and they do it right and they do it every time. It also made me realize that the real champions are the people who you can count on to protect you and if you ask them to do something they will do it 110%.
Another quote that really got me was “Remember why you started.” This one really hit home with me because i have a tendency to start something then when i get bored or it gets hard i stop doing that thing. When i read this it clicked in my head that if you start something you have to finish it. If you stop when it gets harder or when it gets boring then you will never feel success. This quote really did help me finish things through and see the light at the end of the tunnel. I really did enjoy this book and i recommend it to anyone who need motivation during a sport.

[Kameron Jackson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this book is great. This book really changes the attitude people have who play sports. This book really makes you think about how to be a winner and what type of mentality you should have. This book can teach you how to put your books first before any sport you do. In my opinion, this book can help people who have bad attitudes about the sport he or she is playing and have them view the sport in a different way. I strongly recommend this book to anyone who is into sports and has a win win mindset.

[Kelton · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've read multiple books by devenzio, but I would say that this might be one of the weakest of his. It's pretty typical, not everything is original. Kind of banal.

[J. Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Must read for any basketball player or coach. DeVenzio's work may seem out of touch with today's players, but the principles are timeless.