Any athlete or person that wants to strive for a significant goal, title, or championship can learn a lot from the Special Forces that make up the elite units of every military force on the planet. They are skilled operators that have been highly trained to focus and concentrate on the details, to adapt to environmental conditions, to understand and operate a wide range of weapons with skill, to develop strategic plans on the fly that give them a distinct advantage, and to have a ‘do it at all costs’ mentality that drives them towards the success of their ultimate mission.

The path to becoming a member of any elite military unit requires years of development and determination on the part of the individual soldier. It’s not something that happens overnight. The path of the athlete is incredibly similar. You can’t participate in any sport, and become a champion, without investing in your fundamental skills that become the foundation for your future success. It is during this critical developmental phase that your future success is developed.

What makes one soldier more capable than another when it comes to being selected to be a member of an elite unit?

Simply put its their ability to focus and concentrate on the details. Most people have a hard time drilling their skills over and over because it can often be ‘boring’, but your basic skills are the foundation that will make you an elite athlete or as in our example an elite soldier. Failure to take the time to break down and master your basic skills will result in unpredictable results. Elite military units can’t afford to have members on their team that produce unpredictable results, forget important equipment, or fumble under pressure because they haven’t mastered the basics.

Once the basic skills are developed a member of the Special Forces must learn to adapt to environmental conditions. No matter what the weather or specific terrain they find themselves in, an elite soldier must be able to adapt and use the conditions to gain an advantage over their opponents. Athletes must also learn to adapt to their respective environments. The higher you go in any competitive environment the conditions always change and will often present more stressful and turbulent conditions for which you will have to overcome in order to achieve your ultimate performance. Larger crowds, televised events, national pride, and of course an increase in the value of the prize can all throw an athlete into disarray if they are not properly prepared. The first thing that every athlete needs to understand is that to achieve success at the highest level with the highest amount external pressure requires conditioning. The secret to consistently winning under pressure is to consistently practise under match pressure. The more realistic the practise the more likely you will be able to perform calmly under pressure during a real match. Elite military forces practise under every environmental condition and escalate their training from using blanks to eventually using live ammunition. By the time they go on a real mission, they are conditioned to act and reacte in a way that will give them a distinct advantage.

Members of an elite military unit must be skilled operators no matter what the weapon is. Special Forces are often units that perform their duties without the support of the rest of their army. The only way to do this is for every team member to be able to pick up a radio and be able to call in an air strike, pull out a med kit and patch up a team member, and ultimately...fire any weapon of any size in order to stay alive. Athletes must also be able to develop the skills necessary to achieve the ultimate level of performance. Often times athletes will find themselves extremely skilled in one or two aspects of their sport, but are seriously lacking in other areas. This is in large part due to an imbalanced training program that doesn’t cover all of the skills necessary to perform at the highest level. I’m not suggesting that you have to be an expert in every aspect of your sport, but rather that you must be able to perform all aspects well. Not every member of an elite team will be an exceptionally good sniper for example, but every member of the team will be able to pick up a sniper rifle and hit the target. As an athlete you must ensure your training covers all the essential skills so that you can win the engagement, match, or event. You will undoubtedly be better at certain aspects of your sport than others. I’m simply suggesting you don’t neglect your fundamental skills in favour of the things you’re already good at.

Once you’ve developed the skills and understand how to use them no matter what the environmental conditions you must learn to develop the strategies that will give you the winning edge. Special Forces will usually be outnumbered and out gunned, but their ability to use stealth, terrain to their advantage and accurately controlled fire can give them an advantage even if outnumbered. Members of the Special Forces know what gives them the advantage and they fight hard to keep it. An athlete must go into competition knowing what gives them the strategic advantage. It doesn’t mean that you’ll be able to keep that advantage throughout a match or competition, but the more you can stay on track strategically the bigger the advantage you’ll have. He or she that maintains their strategic advantage the longest will usually win the engagement. Developing a strategic plan starts with you knowing what your strengths and weaknesses are. You want to stick with your strengths and avoid your weaknesses.

The last and probably most important aspect that you can learn from elite combat soldiers is their ‘do it at all costs’ mentality. Once all of the training, mission rehearsals, and preparation has been completed the difference between success and failure for the Special Forces is their determination to accomplish the mission. Each member of the team is trained to fulfill the tasks of every other member of the team because the Special Forces deal with life and death. If a member of their team is injured or killed every other member of the team must carry on until the job is done. Luckily, in sport, win only have to worry about winning or losing but if we can apply the ‘do it at all costs’ mentality we will give ourselves an advantage over our opponents. If we are more determined and driven to succeed than our opponents, than the likelihood that we will win the engagement drastically increases in our favour. You don’t have to look very far to find examples in any sport where one persons determination and will to win gave them the victory.

John McMahon