If at first you don’t succeed, write it again!

IT has taken almost double the time and effort for local performance coach Jamie Edwards to write his first book.

Had it not been for an unfortunate mishap, the 36-year-old from Denshaw would have completed “Mental Ketchup” far sooner than he envisaged.

Edwards, the former Oldham Celtics and England basketball player, explained: “I had been working on the book for some time and had completed 80-per-cent when I lost it because I had no back up on the hard drive on my computer which developed a fault.

“It meant I had to start all over again though, in many ways, losing so much of the book forced me to make a big push to get it finished.”

As a performance coach Edwards, a partner in a company “Trained Brain” has worked with many top sportsmen including Lancashire and England cricket star Andrew Flintoff.

His current clients include Premier League footballers Chris Kirkland, Ross Turnbull, James Morrison and Andrew Taylor, Rugby Union players Lewis Moody and Tom Varndell and top golfers Darren Clarke and Lee Westwood.

Edwards also works with companies such as Bombardier, Sainsbury’s, Red Bull, Nokia, Investec and Marriott Hotels explaining that the same principles of psychology and mental strength are applicable to both the sporting and business worlds as well as everyday life.

Edwards, who has drawn on his own experiences as a top sportsman, said: “The book is called ‘Mental Ketchup’ because ketchup is something which can be added to many things.

“And the principles which I explore to achieve peak performance can be applied to sport, business and life in general.”

Edwards added that being only 5ft 6in as a basketball player was a handicap so one of his strengths was being mentally tough.

He said: “I have seen many people with great sporting potential and who have been great in practice.

“But when it comes to transferring those skills to a competition environment they have been unable to do so.

“That is where I try to help by allowing that potential to be realised by training the brain.”

Edwards added that he has long wanted to put his ideas into print as the only record he previously had was in audio form from giving lectures.

He has published the book himself and there is an initial print run of 5,000.

Anybody buying the book on Amazon on March 18 ought to keep the receipt which will enable them to visit Edwards’ website trained-brain.com and download e-books and MP3s worth over £300 free of charge.