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Sport is big business these days and sports stars are idolised all over the world. While some people are of the opinion that physical strength is necessary to achieve sporting success, others consider that mental toughness is the key ingredient. This essay will consider both sides of the argument and explain why the writer believes that both attributes are essential.
Physical strength is required for the vast majority of sports. It is simply impossible for players of sports such as football or rugby, or participants in athletics events to succeed without spending many hours per week in the gym or in training to build the muscles that they need. People who are unable, due to physical problems, to acquire the required physique will simply be unable to compete at the top levels of most sports. There are a few sports which do not require much physical strength, for instance motor racing and target shooting, but these are very much the exception rather than the rule.
However, strength is seldom enough on its own. In order to succeed at sport people need great strength of mind as well as body. In order to cope with the mental stress of top-level sport and make the split-second decisions that are often needed, sports people must be mentally tough. For example, penalty shoot-outs in the finals of major football competitions must require an unimaginable level of calm in order not to panic at the critical moment.
Furthermore, as mentioned above, it is not possible to achieve a high degree of physical fitness without constant training and this itself requires mental strength. It requires great self discipline to get up early or train after work or go running in the rain when people would rather be at home.
So, to conclude, although physical strength is a prerequisite for success in most sports, it must go hand-in-hand with mental strength in order for top-level sporting success to be achieved.