In addition to internal vision, (an excellent answer!), I would add an immense ability to focus, and total belief and confidence in their abilities.

Others may be skillful but perhaps what the more successful athletes possess are: attention, concentration, being in the present moment, faith and trust in themselves, desire, loving what they do, taking joy in what they do, being one with the game and quite possibly not beating themselves up when there is a failure.

I think you can literally just pick up "Think and Grow Rich", go through the table of contents and you'll have the answer.

1. Desire. Successful people know exactly what they want. Their mind is laser focused on that thing and they do not settle for anything less. They think big.

2.Faith. They have an unwavering belief in their ability to reach the goals they set.

3.Mind-power. They understand the power of their (subconscious) mind and have mastered the art of controlling and directing it through techniques like auto-suggestion, meditation etc.

4.Specialized Knowledge. Rather then broad general knowledge, their greatest strength is high level of expertise in a particular area.

5.Imagination. As Einstein once said "Imagination is more important then knowledge."

6.Organized Planning.Successful people know how to put their plans into action.

7.Decision. "Analysis of several hundred people who have accumulated fortunes well beyond the one-million mark has disclosed the fact that every one of them had the habit of reaching decisions promptly, and of changing these decisions slowly, if, and when they were changed." (Napoleon Hill - Think and Grow Rich)

8.Persistence. They understand that reaching their ultimate goal may take time and never give up until they attain their desire.

9.Master-mind. They associate with like-minded people and never let the opinions of people outside that group influence them.

10.Sexuality. They understand their sexual nature, do not have any limiting beliefs concerning sexuality and know how to turn this great force into constructive action.

Internal vision. They sleep with it, they walk with it.

You don't get what you want, you get what you EXPECT! These people expect to win and more times than not, they do.

Also I agree with the visualization aspect. They are masters at visualizing the ball going in the basket, the baseball going over the fence, reaching the finish line first. They SEE it.

As someone said on a previous post, what man can conceive and believe, he can achieve!

Imagination is important to belief. There are studies that strongly suggest. That seeing the completed goal happening in your minds eye is more effective then practice alone.

I simply believe what Rebecca says and to add to that they simply they don't believe they will be successful they know they will be successful they have taken it to the core of their being and if by chance some one does beat them than they learn and move on they recheck and see was it anything else they could have done and than they move on to the next they don't stay in the moment of I just lost they review it and than they leave it alone an move on to the next project. One more thing I would like to add they have trained their mind to be successful and not to doubt their own personal abilities for your mind is more powerful than your body. So many people exercise their body for an completition but they forget to have exercise their mind for the completiton for that is where your greatest strength lay.

Withoubt a doubt, it's positive affirmations, self belief, and visualization.

passion, self-discipline, determination . . .