The path to performance is usually not a smooth, uphill ride to the top. It is less like an 80 mph drive along a newly paved interstate and more like a slow journey on a long gravel road with alternating stretches of free flowing travel and rough patches with bumps, ruts, and slides. It is critical that aspiring athletes are not blindsided by this process and, instead, are able to anticipate both the difficulties and the possibilities ahead. Only then will they have the best chance to navigate the journey successfully.