Do you ever sit and wonder how Bermuda can produce such talented athletes in various sports but for some reason or another we always seem to falter at that final hurdle, not all but in most cases?Could it be that as a country our players lack exposure (international experience) or that they are mentally weak (doubting themselves before even facing the challenge)?The Bermuda national cricket team are about to embark on the daunting task of trying to qualify for Twenty20 World Cup but are they mentally ready?The national team will face one of their toughest challenges ever in an effort to qualify for the World Cup. They will come up against some of cricket’s powerhouse teams such as Netherlands, Scotland, Afghanistan, and Kenya just to name a few in their group.My question isn’t concerning whether we have the ability but whether we are mentally prepared for what we are about to face.Talent wise, I truly believe in the T/20 version of the game we can compete with any team in our group because the shorter version of the game tends to make things evenly balanced or a lot closer than normal.In our team that should be presented soon, there are some match-winners in Dion Stovell, Janeiro Tucker, Lionel Cann and Malachi Jones. If any two of these four find red hot form during a game it doesn’t matter who we are playing we stand a chance, but again the big question is are we mentally prepared?The following are five steps to help a player get mentally prepared:1. Pre-game. The match actually starts the night before not the day of.2. Visualisation. The ability to see yourself playing well in the game and having success.3. Focus. Understand the task ahead and not get sidetracked by other things.4. Positive thinking. Think about past games where you have had success and surround yourself with people who think positive and have positive thoughts.5. Have fun. The game can get intense but you must enjoy yourself and enjoy the battle.Basically, mentally prepared and mental toughness go hand in hand and our players have to learn to believe in themselves even when the odds are stacked against them.Realistically, this tournament’s teams will look at us as an easy win. We will not be expected to win more than two games if that, but what is stopping us from finishing in the top two in our group?We have the talent, it’s whether we can channel that talent collectively as a group and whether we truly believe we can win as a group. If we believe in ourselves and we have put the work in that is required, the sky is the limit.In sports we all know about momentum. If you get one or two wins under your belt all of a sudden psychologically games you didn’t think you can win, you confidence and believe you can win.Therefore, in my eyes anything is possible providing we are mentally ready.Let me take time to share with you one of the most amazing, memorable stories ever in my life. It is not to do with sports, but mental toughness.It was on a trip with the Regiment in Jamaica some 20 years ago. I still remember it like it was yesterday because it had such an impact on me and others around me.Our platoons were broken up into groups and we were to do an eight-hour hike through hills and mountains and my good friend Ross Dowling was at that time a little overweight. The sergeants got together and placed a big wager that he would not finish the journey and that he would have to be picked up by the trucks. Our sergeant told him and all of our platoon about the wager and we were collectively determined that no matter what, no matter how long it took us we was going to get him to the finish line.Sadly, at the very beginning our leader misread his compass and instead of going east we went west. We walked for some 20 minutes before we saw some men in the distance and asked them if we were going in the right direction and they replied, no.So we had to turn around and back track 20 minutes. So what was supposed to be an eight-hour hike just got 40 minutes longer. We pushed on and persevered through some treacherous forest. As a group we all took turns carrying Ross’s rucksack and rifle so that he had no extra weight to burden him.We walked and it seemed like an eternity, but throughout the whole journey we kept encouraging Ross. We stretched, we joked, we did everything to try and keep him relaxed.Eight hours had passed it was starting to get a little dark but in the distance we saw a ray of daylight which we all thought was the end so we all started running, but as we got closer to the light we could see yet another mountain. Deflated, dejected are words you could use to describe our mental state at that time, but our determination would not let us be beaten.I could see this deflated Ross tremendously, so we took a quick break and I quietly went over to him and told him to think cricket.He looked at me strangely as if to say what on earth you talking about now. I told him, we as St Georgians thrive off a challenge. How many times have we been bowled out for 130 runs and gone onto the field and won the game? We live for moments like this.Ross immediately arose and we started on our journey again. Once we got around that last mountain all the other groups were there even the group that started after us. When we saw them we gave Ross his rucksack and his rifle and let him lead us home with a jog.Once we arrived I will never forget this moment for the rest of my life. I saw grown men crying and I mean crying like babies. It was mission accomplished.Having said all of that, I say anything in sports or in life is possible providing you put your mind to it.A lot of our athletes and our teams come so close to winning but fall at the final hurdle because we fail to prepare them mentally.I encourage coaches to think outside the box because talent is one thing but the mind is the most powerful weapon of all. We have to start doing skill bonding and mentally challenging exercises with our teams, things that will challenge them mentally, but through creative thinking they can be successful.Example, when I coached Cleveland I took them to John Smith’s Bay and set two cones some 50 yards apart and told them as a team they had to get from one cone to another without anyone’s feet touching the sand.The amount of confusion this task brought about at first was hilarious but what it did was get them to collectively think as a team through a difficult challenge and it showed them in the end that they can achieve anything they put their mind to providing they work together.Having said all that, I want to encourage whatever team that is presented by the BCB to have confidence that you can and will succeed. Get together a few nights before going away and play cards, go bowling, go to dinner, get to know each other inside out because when you step onto that field if you are not mentally prepared, meaning confident and being able to trust your team-mate, you will get exposed.How well you do in this tournament depends on how well you prepare. Good luck!Quote of the week: What you are thinking, what shape your mind is in, is what makes the biggest difference of all — Willie Mays.